Misty's Big Adventure - 'The Solar Hi-Fi System' (SL) Released 06/09/04

At less than thirty-seven minutes in total, and with many of the tunes barely scraping the ninety second mark, the many listeners who will inevitably despise this record at least have the consolation of brevity.

Misty’s Big Adventure set themselves up for the hatred simply by being so uncompromisingly twee. Remember the communal effigy-burning that united the country in condemnation of Bis? Believe me when I say that Misty’s Big Adventure have the power to confuse and annoy in just the same fashion.

Ironically, the very fact that so many will hate it as instinctively as breathing makes assessing the album dispassionately problematic. Certainly it’s difficult to love The Solar Hi-Fi System, but equally it’s hard to listen to it without coming away with a sneaking sense of admiration. So while the Barbara Woodhouse samples “A Dog Like You” and varispeed vocals on “Singsong” are teeth-gratingly bad, elsewhere Misty’s Big Adventure display a playful psychedelic bent reminiscent of Julian Cope, and following the influence to its logical end, the finely balanced genius and absurdity of 70s krautrocking nutcases Faust.

On 'Mulling it Over' they show that writing a proper song is within their grasp, and on 'Fighting For My Life' they give Madness a run for their money. The lyrics are mostly inconsequential nonsense, occasionally brilliant, such as “Home Taping’s Killing Music”: “so the tape gets passed around / and it’s on twenty cassettes / and my friend’s all then save money / spend it all on cigarettes / so as well as killing music / I’m also killing them.”

Approach Misty’s Big Adventure with caution, but also an open mind, and you’re bound to find something you like.