Family Fodder - Savoir Fair: The Best of Family Fodder
(Dark Beloved Cloud)
Sometimes it's hard to pay attention to reissues with the deluge of new music
in the record store every week. Although many of my favorite records that I can
think of from the last few years have been reissues or unearthed recordings--the
American Anthology of Folk Music, the Beefheart box set, the Os Mutantes
reissues--sometimes it seems like every out-of-print record, no matter if it
was good or bad, will be re-released.
Dark Beloved Cloud delivers another reissue with Savoir Faire, a
collection of music from the obscure new wave band Family Fodder. This CD
provides 15 fantastic selections from the career of an obscure band that defied
categorization and genre labels.
Family Fodder existed at some time during 1980-83 and hailed from all parts of
Europe, though generally concentrating in London. Essentially the work of Alig
Fodder, they took an experimental approach to pop music that was clearly
influenced by punk and 20th century classical music (Satie's "The
Big Dig" is covered on this CD). They released a number of singles and an LP,
"Monkey Banana Kitchen" before disbanding--er, fading out--around 1983.
The liner notes, written by sometimes-vocalist Dominque Levillian, are a bit
confusing, but the basic story is that at some point the group was befriended
by This Heat (the seminal experimental rock band) and recorded in their
practice space/studio, Cold Fusion (also shared by the Raincoats). Family
Fodder's music does not hesitate to utilize studio trickery in a similar way
to their mentors.
The music is stunning--quirky, surreal, and possibly an acquired taste--but
for fans of Stereolab or even Elephant 6 bands, Family Fodder will definitely
delight. The pop songs, underneath the strange arrangements, are catchy and
clever, and angled with a surrealist/romantic lyrical approach that adds yet
another dimension to the music.
"Playing Golf (with my flesh crawling)" featuring Alig on vocals boasts some of
the most warped production I've ever heard in a pop song -- heavy tape echo
effects hang from the vocals, which yearn for death through a bubbly haze of
guitars, seared with electronics. Family Fodder reaches the mood and tension of
This Heat's more song-based efforts as a tortured voice yelps "Do you want to be
a pawn in someone else's painting? Or do you want to be dead?"
Despite the apparent gloom, Savoir Faire is lots of fun. "Debbie Harry"
and "Sunday Girls," back-to-back, make a catchy pair of rockers. The lengthy
"Dinosaur Sex" is the only really failing of the hour-long collection--it
drags on for too long in a meandering and stupid way.
Savoir Faire has hardly left my cd player for the past 2 months. I'm
curious to hear what the other Family Fodder songs were like, and I hope that
someday these lost records will surface.
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