04/98 nightshift

Animal House

Bullingdon Arms

The first time I saw Shuffle they were the new 5.30, all flares, eyeliner and loud Small Faces guitars - they even had their own P.P.Arnold, a funky lass who belted out ÎTin Soldierâ, or was it ÎThe Afterglowâ? But times have changed. Theyâve lost the P.P. and have just gone for the plain Arnold, as in the mellow country-tinged Creation artistes of the same name. The guitar is quieter and the piano-dominated songs sort of chug behind the bassistâs lead vocals and the keyboard playerâs falsetto harmonies. I canât help thinking that a pedal steel would do wonders here; in the meantime Shuffle amble along pleasantly among the foothills of that country hinterland whose chief inhabitants are Teenage Fanclub.

Re-invention is the theme of the evening. We are, after all, in the new, improved Bullingdon Arms. Tonight it is full of a mighty buzz as the glitterati of the Oxford music scene gather in force to cast an eye over Animal House - who feature (in case you slammed yourself in the freezer after ÎAustin Powersâ and have just woken up) Mark and Loz out of Ride plus Sam Williams, ex-Mystic and Supergrass producer.

Unlike most supergroups (from Blind Faith to the Travelling Wilburys), they know how to keep it short, strolling on at 11 and playing five songs. They have also succeeded in creating a new sound for themselves which seems to have practically nothing in common with their previous projects and they are able to project themselves as a group, not as a collection of separate egos struggling for the spotlight. In fact, there is no spotlight. Animal House play swathed in back projections, phrases from their lyrics flashing up in between abstract images and kaleidoscope patterns which admirably suit their clean, trippy modernity.

And modern they are, in the strangest combination of ways. Sam and Mark play guitars and sing - so far so traditional - while Disco 45-er Jason King supplies imaginative keyboard flourishes. Bur Markâs former 60s wistfulness (most recently seen on last yearâs ÎMagdalen Skiesâ) only surfaces here in his trademark Byrds-y harmonies; otherwise this is a much harder-edged sound.... but without the eccentric twists and lurches beloved of the Mystics. Heavy sampled beats are the (new) order of the day - referring occasionally to the junglist 90s but more frequently to early 80s electro and its autobahn-crazed precursors. Bassist Hari and drummer Loz lock in effortlessly (clunk, click, every trip) and the motorcade is off, cruising a linear grid system mapped out by Kraftwerk and JG Ballard.

ÎReady to Receiveâ goes the first song, but donât bother to search the skies - these signals come from inner space and itâs not all clean lines and mathematics in there. The organic and irrational are a constant subversive presence in this music and its greatest strength lies in this contrast between the mechanistic and the chaotic, order and disorder, sampler versus human. ÎWelcome to the Animal Houseâ sing Mark and Sam on the penultimate song and continue the story with the more succinctly titled finale ÎAnimalâ. Get the picture? Yes, we see. Maybe we are a little overcome by the excitement of this celebratory debut.... maybe we having been staring at the light show for too long.... but, even though itâs not quite what we expected, we think we might be back again soon to visit the Animal House.

Harry Lime. Animal House photo by Pat Loughnane

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