Fort Lauderdale, 'Pretty Monster' (Memphis Industries) Released 06/10/03

The latest album release by London duo Fort Lauderdale is a tour de force of late sixties/early seventies psychedelic/rocky/folky pop/rock fun.  That’s right, this is not an easy to categorize set of songs, but a piece of work that over the course of it’s year in the making became the Pretty Monster of the title, a good enough description.  Some albums entertain, some make you think, and some take you to another place.  Pretty Monster does a little bit of all three.

Opener 'Insane Overdrive' is like Queen playing Pink Floyd, whilst 'Best Days' is Cat Stevens fronting Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, an insane sounding fusion of folk and blues rock that works surprisingly well.  Elsewhere, there is a slab of bubbling synth proto-prog in 'May The Scene Last A Thousand Years'.  While they touch on the edge of the beast that spawned Rick Wakeman’s concepts from hell, Fort Lauderdale have managed to fit more into their three minute tracks than you might imagine.  Of the fourteen tracks on offer, only the six minute trip hoppy Force of Nature really outstays it’s welcome.

In an ocean of garage, blues and metal, Pretty Monster is a nice reminder that rock doesn’t have to be dumb.