C Turtle - Expensive Thrills Review

The album is accomplished in its delivery of enchanting rock that carries a sense of whimsy in its lyrics and edge in the perpetual fuzzy lo-fi.

C Turtle have been building up this album for the past three years. A solo effort with Cole Flynn Quirke that acts as a minimal guitar record recorded in lockdown, the ‘This Is Not Karate’ EP introducing us to the rest of the band, (Finlay Burrows on bass, Jimmy Guvercin on drums and Mimiko McVeigh on vocals and guitar) that sold promise and vision to an audience accumulated via word and mouth, the kind of buzz that comes from playing in London in the right places, with the right people filming and ready to upload. The foursome emulates sounds straight off college radio of the 90s, only with a British accent in the two voices of Quirke and McVeigh.

The opening track is spacey, something the band lean into, with scratches and samples littered at the end. A coherent project that solidifies their status on the London D.I.Y scene, with moments like the Lead guitar performance in ‘Ex Athlete’ being hypnotic and beguiling, and the track ‘Splitter’ being of instrumental nature swelled with fuzzy guitars ambience like the instrumental efforts from the band Broadcast. ‘Shake It Down’ stands out for its cheeky fun sarcasm and the composure of McVeigh contrasted with Quirke’s urgent shrieks.

You’ll find the band at its most experimental in the track ’Sniffing The Jesus Hole’. Hailing at six minutes, the song doesn’t necessarily build but develops and teeters back, allowing space for happening and establishing a soundscape reminiscent of early prog rock before the instruments all follow the same rhythm. It’s a feast of a track, a sense of otherworldliness within the distorted vocals, long drawn-out chords and strung feedback with the drum pace ever evolving. Whilst ambiguous, it’s certainly the most interesting sonics produced on the album in terms of deviating out of form and into a new void.

There’s room for more play and innovation in terms of compositions and experimentation but the album is accomplished in its delivery of enchanting rock that carries a sense of whimsy in its lyrics and edge in the perpetual fuzzy lo-fi.