I’d not heard of the band A COAT before, but when word of them came over the transom, I had the spare minute to sample the wares on Bandcamp and I was immediately smitten by the poise and wit of vocalist one Johnny Brownbow. Landing, as he did, within putting distance of Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy in his arch delivery. The music itself was another story entirely, though one well worth telling. A COAT were Brownbow on vocals, guitar, and Casio with Kurt Jurgens on various machines and guitar. Kurt’s dog poppy also vocalizes. And as much as I was drawn to the excellent lyrics, the music surrounding those pearls was decidedly idiosyncratic and highly compelling. Let’s dive in, shall we?

A COAT: A COAT – UK – DL/CD [2025]

1. The Binoculars Of Hate 4:01
2. I’m Not Paul McGrath 5:26
3. The Telescope Of Love 2:48
4. Sugar Puffs 3:19
5. Brownbow’s Hyperbole 2:24
6. Noor Inayat Khan 1:57
7. Thicker Than Me 3:04
8. Abortion! 4:31
9. Formby’s Admonishment 3:50
10. Hats Off To Sloths 4:14
11. Satchel 4:32
12. Eddie Edwards Reminisces and Lies about the Cheltenham Music Scene Circa 1988 2:02

The first two bars of “The Binoculars Of Hate” were enough to sell me on investigating the whole album. The lazy guitar vying with the rudimentary beatbox was beyond casual but when the TB-303 squelches began to manifest, I was paying rapt attention to the results! The low-fi, shambolic groove was like nothing else I’d ever heard with no resistance at all to plowing a singular musical furrow that everyone else had completely overlooked. The juxtaposition of Acid House tropes on such incredibly low BPM music was astonishing. And once the music bed had hooked my ears, but hard… I next paid attention to the biting lyrics which were more acidic than the bass! In a nutshell, the song was from the point of view of a Brexit-loving fan of Nigel Farage; scanning the coastline for immigrants attempting to invade Mother England!

The oscillating synths of “I’m Not Paul McGrath” laid a foundation for Brownbow to lend his plaintive voice to this tale of alcohol and regret. The minor key synths permeating this one gave off the whiff of The Residents to these ears, but lyrically, the Eyeball Brothers had nothing on the self-deprecating humor oozing out of this tune like slime from a snail. The singer compared himself negatively to many famous drinkers in the verses yet the chorus here was simply “I’ve got to give my liver a rest.” And the 303 showed up again here giving me hope that it would flavor all of these songs with its unique spice. Speaking of spice, the “guitar frippery” of Viscount Leo Whetter added a passable Fripptone to the solo on the song’s climax.

“Brownbow’s Hyperbole” immediately caught my ear with the opening couplet of “Late Night Movies by The Doctors Of Madness, is the greatest album ever made.” I could not help but to be drawn into the lyric making just the sort of esoteric and knowing musical judgement that is guaranteed to capture the attention of This Monk. Also, I was personally chagrined that after several decades, I still only have “Figments of Emancipation” and have yet to hear the classic “Late Night Movies – All Night Brainstorms!!” Best of all, the largely acoustic song continued down this path to various similar pronouncements as Brownbow turned his lyrical scalpel inward on his propensity to gush hyperbolically.

The groaning synths of “Thicker Than Me” that buzzed and roiled like a pained animal had obviously spurred on Kurt Jurgen’s dog Poppy to howl and bark along in the song’s intro. Hence their credit here. The largely atonal track was content to represent that reactionary mindset that easily found fault with everything and everyone as the vibe, and even theme to an extent here, mirrored PiL’s “Go Back” from “Flowers Of Romance.”

I was drawn to the Discofunk of “Abortion!” wherein the music bed was at its slickest of surfaces, but beneath the surface the lyrics painted a very different picture. Full of allusions to American Red State issues that suggested that no matter what is affecting the population, they could always be manipulated by a hot-button issue wielded ruthlessly…I think! If I could only get past the infectious choral refrain of “what do you think…what do you think NAME-HERE” followed by a-bor-tion, abortion, abortion.” Or the acid guitar licks of Will Hutch; so incongruous in their setting here. The drop to a bar of pure rhythm guitar licks also worked flawlessly as a hook.

The urgent technpop of “Hats Off To Sloths” proffered a specious, mythical origin tale of sloths as recited by Naicher Mann. This was the sort of song that no one else would think to write but A COAT were made of sterner stuff. And laughed off any naysaying to get on with the task. The acoustic jug band blues of “Satchel” was an ode to a dog, or possibly the ideal of a dog. One could hardly imagine a more rustic and bucolic track; coming as it did, on the heels of the high-tech acme of the album with the previous “Hats Off To Sloths.” This fearlessness was just another reason why this album was earning my respect and love even from the first play. After six or seven plays, I had to wonder “why am I bother listening to anything other than A COAT?”

The album was actually released last year but I say better late, than never! The lyrical POV that Brownbow brought to the material was unique and idiosyncratic to the max. And then the arrangements took that extreme posture as a jumping off point into the void! There was something to Brownbow that had me thinking of cult fave Tim Benton of )… and wouldn’t you know it… they were mates with Benton having mastered this album!

Digging deeper, I found that Brownbow was a nom du disque of Richard Batchelor of the band Ricky Spontane. And further, I saw that I have some Baxendale recordings with Batchelor in my mile-long want list! So I was peripherally aware of Batchelor years before hearing the compelling results of his songwriting as on this supa-fine A COAT album. But all of this has meaning and context. And now I have another songwriter to dig deep on, based on the compelling evidence as revealed on “A COAT.” The DL will set you back £7.50 with CDs available [with bonus drawings by the artiste] for £9.44. Fans of a singular and quixotic artistic vision need look no further than A COAT for a compelling and satisfying listen. DJ hit that button!

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