The lord works in mysterious ways. About a month ago I was thrilled to find a CD of the Baxendale compilation “You Will Have Your Revenge!” True, I’ve had one since Y2K, but how often have I seen one? [answer: not in the subsequent 20+ years] So I bought it to gift to my friend chasinvictoria for his b-day! How he didn’t know Baxendale was astounding to me! Their single “Music For Girls” was a galvanizing presence on the same station chasinvictoria broadcast his Chaz’s Crusty Old Wave® program back in the day!
More to the point, Baxendale were the brainchild of writer/singer Tim Benton. An infuriatingly talented Pop Kid with all of the emotional chops of wise old men of Pop Jarvis Cocker or Neil Tennant at a fraction of their ages! And the music of Baxendale was brightly colored electropop that would often feature the sort of emotional depths that it took Messrs. Tennant and Cocker years to achieve… in a young man roughly twenty years of age. The single Baxendale CD [still in print!] was a compilation of various singles and yet it remains my favorite album of the Noughts. And it was my favorite by far from the [futuristic] year 2000.
So I was thinking about Baxendale and whatever happened to Tim Benton after discussing the glory of the band with chasinvictoria recently, and when I ventured down the Discogs hole, apart from Astronaut [predating Baxendale] and Soft Regime [on my want list for 6 years now] I was thrilled to see new evidence of The Godlike Genius Of Tim Benton™ out once more in this fallen world! I immediately purchased the new EP that was still less than two months out in release and today we discuss! Ladies and gentlemen…(…!
Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot: The Raptor E.P. – UK – DL [2024]
- The Raptor
- Open Up
- Signature Look
- For The Time Being
- Signature Look [21st Century Shakes Remix]
Grinding square wave synths sounded the clarion call then the drum machine and guitars joined in immediately, as Mr. Benton jumped right into the song. His wit from 24 years ago still fully intact as the music swelled in complexity and then popped like a bubble. A mere 57 seconds from its start!
Slower tempos, richer arrangements, and that perfect blend of synths and indiestyle guitars heralded the next song, “Open Up.” Benton outlined the difficulty in communicating from the heart couched in modern media metaphors. The chorus erupted with a thunderous percussion hook adroitly lifted from Simon + Garfunkle’s “The Boxer” joining with tales of how he’d finally spill the beans with famous talk show hosts, but for now…the middle eight below was the emotional placeholder for his situation.
But I try, yes I try
“Open Up”
To bring you information from inside
This silence may be misconstrued
No, I’m not just being rude
These words are just so hard to find
Give me a little bit more time…
The zippy “Signature Look” wasn’t about fashion or looking smart so much as examining the psychic weight that the horrifying twenty first century bears upon all of us. Complete with social unrest and siren foley effects in the song’s climax. “Nobody’s off the hook; a rabbit in the headlights…is our signature look.”
The EP had been sharp, crunchy, and full of vitamin C thus far, but now it was time for a dip into Benton’s penchant for euphoric electropop with “For The Time Being.” The chiming, chorused synths offset perfectly by the sustained guitar chords. The drops peppering the music bed kept us tumbling down the joyous rabbit hole of the song. The reedy synths in the middle eight lending the track the necessary disco-ball ambience.
Cos as you move through time,
“For The Time Being”
every hour,
every minute,
every second is a lesson
it’s better when you’re in it
Then the EP doubled back for the “Signature Look [21st Century Shakes Remix].” It began with a very stripped down music bed over which portentous narration by a very impressive British thespian making a recitation that I can’t seem to track down right now, but the overall effect delightfully recalled the heady days of High ZTT and tracks like the 12″ singles of “Welcome To The Pleasure Dome!” Then amid the vocoders and squelchy synths Benton made his appearance while various samples and sound bites were added maximize the number of hooks in the track. The guitars got pulled up in the mix for us to luxuriate more effectively in them. As the song had been nearly doubled in length to accommodate the riffs being spotlit in the extended coda. Why not listen now?
It was a joyous moment when I realized that Tim Benton was back…back…back! And I clicked that “buy” button so fast it made my giddy head spin. Better yet, Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot have lots of viddys out there with even more songs embedded in their website to investigate. And the band’s Soundcloud page has a Moldy Peaches cover version of “Nothing Came Out” available to download for the cognoscenti…gratis. Being old, I was unfamiliar with the tragically named Moldy Peaches, but the song itself was much fresher. I have to admit that it reminded me of the teenage kicks inherent in Baxendale’s “Hanging Out With Her” in little ways. Listen [and download] below!
I’m delighted to hear that Tim Benton hasn’t given up as his stellar vision of Pop is never out of style and yet, his lifetime of pearls before swine can’t be an easy one to bear. That he’s still in the game, no worse for wear, is invigorating and inspirational. While the name Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot might be more complex than a band name should be in the 21st century [one hopes people can spell “parenthesis” into their search engine] let’s for a moment assume that it won’t be an impediment for the unwashed public to discover the perfect, ravishing Pop that is the man’s stock in trade. The “Raptor E.P.” will only set you back £3.00, but why not pay more? We’re in the hands of an expert here, so DJ hit that button! Several times!
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“The Raptor” is the PERFECT companion song to “Burger Store Dinosaur” by my friends, Fringe Ozzie/German comedy art rock duo Die Roten Punkt! Look ‘em up!
”Signature Look” is a sharp song with the key line “Is this AI … or is it for real?” That’s the question of at least this decade, if not the whole damn century.
”For the Time Being” is a great single and such a joyous song. This is really whetting my appetite for the Baxendale CD!
That voice at the beginning of the “Signature Look” remix is unidentified on the Bandcamp credits …
Finally, “Nothing Came Out” pushes all my shitty-old-70s cartoon buttons!! I think I like the original version slightly better for the “spooky girl” vibe, but they’re both very good.
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chasinvictoria – I know!! “Hong Kong Phooey” references!!! It’s just the sort of pup cult detritus that Benton would knowingly use in his own songs that made this such an on-target cover. Even though I doubt Tim was alive within 5 years of its original broadcast. And I didn’t cite the AI line but I’m glad you did! I can’t give all the spoilers!
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20+ years ago I went to Berlin from Hamburg with a couple of friends to see Baxendale live, but I haven’t been aware of Tim’s releases as (●●● . It’s almost like no time has passed, only the lyrical themes are more contemporary, but what I liked about Baxendale is still pretty much in place. Now I wonder what the 2014 EP “Ellipses Like Sugar” sounded like, there’s nothing to find online anymore.
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strange_idol – Thank goodness there’s another Tim Benton cultist out there! Sometimes I feel all alone in my admiration for his talents. And you’re right. The years have been kind to Benton’s pen as he’s still crafting wonderful songs that pull me right in. Albeit with lots more guitars. Now you scoop me by citing “Ellipses Like Sugar,” good sir! Tell us more. First I’ve heard of it.
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Baxendale were probably most popular with the indie pop crowd, even though they tried to get their music to the dancefloor with their last few 12″ releases. I suspect that wasn’t very successful. I wasn’t aware of any of Tim’s post-Baxendale endeavors and found the Discogs-entry for “Ellipses Like Sugar” only AFTER reading your post. So I’ve never heard the EP, there’s nothing on either Soundcloud or YouTube. Really stresses the point that only music on disc is for real.
On a side note, I urge you to investigate New York band My Favorite. They were active roughly at the same time as Baxendale and played 80s inspired new wave indie pop. I know you have little time but check out their song “Homeless Club Kids” from 2000 on Bandcamp, it’s like a lost Factory release circa 1984.
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I, too, equate Baxendale with My Favorite. Besides the amazing Homeless Club Kids, I especially love You Belong With Us.
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blimpsofromance – Mental note to self: investigate My Favorite on Bandcamp immediately!
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Hope you like it. Other than both bands evoking the 80s, they don’t sound similar. I equate them because, like strange_angel pointed out, they were releasing stuff in the indie scene at the same.
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WOW! This is such great news! I, too, am a huge fan of You Will Have Your Revenge. I gave up trying to find new stuff from him long, long ago. Following the 2001 Summer Of Hate single, all I’d found were a couple of random tracks on compilations from 2005. It’s good to know there are other Tim Benton fans out there.
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blimpsofromance – Welcome to the comments, love that handle! Love the enthusiasm for Tim Benton even more! I have to admit that I woke up at 4 am this morning with “Signature Look” bouncing around in my cranium. A great sign!
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I commented once before (probably a couple of years ago), but it was under my real name – I had forgotten I had a WordPress account. Anyway, I’m loving these new tracks and am so grateful you posted about it.
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Do go see (… at The Lexington on September 1st. Brilliant live with the full band.
Also with Piney Gir and Charley Stone With The Actual Band. See you there
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TenthPlanet Montenegro – Welcome to the comments, but that’s easier said than done! I live across the Atlantic and we’ve already visited the UK once already this year. I’m sure that Mr. Benton wouldn’t do anything by half measures. Please report back on your findings!
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There is more (… to be had here, if anyone is interested: https://wiaiwya.bandcamp.com/album/your-excellency-cats-home-dogs-home
It’s lovely seeing Tim get some love – a wider recognition of his talent is long overdue.
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robbritton – Welcome to the comments! Thanks so much for bringing that to my attention. I drove home from Ohio the day of your comment and that night the only thing I did was buy the “Your Excellency” single. Sadly, Tim’s artist profile on Discogs is pretty widely strewn about. Almost every release is not tied to the same “artist.” Naming a music act “Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot” [a.k.a. (… a.k.a. Parenthesis…] is a thankless proposition for the search engine era. So ambiguous. Almost worse than “Black” or “Japan.” Though they were classically ill-suited to web search. And thanks for playing guitar on “CATS HOME/DOGS HOME!” Are you still playing guitar with Tim on the newer material? I thought it added a lot to the material in any case. As for praising the work of Mr. Benton, I’ve long felt like a voice in the wilderness in that respect.
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I am still playing guitar with him, yes, and there are certainly more releases planned. For the foreseeable future at least they should be coming on the parenthesisdotdotdot pages and be less scattered than in the past.
I can’t speak to the name, as it existed well before I got involved, but I think the accepted typing these days is all one word – parenthesisdotdotdot – which ought to make searching easier!
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ronbritton – Good advice! I will rebrand all instances here of the name as parenthesisdotdotdot in the hopes of consolidation!
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