Station Nord – Mind Control Radio – album review

Station Nord is a project by what could be described as a Scottish supergroup, even though some of its members are now divided by oceans, the core element of the band originate from the hotbed of musical talent that is North Lanarkshire. Readers of these pages will recognise some of the names and the dulcet tones of the roll call – guitar wrangler for The Scottish Sex Pistols and Johnny Cash tribute Jericho Hill, Joe Whyte, Jonzip of the first wave of punk band The Zips, Peter Lacey of God Fearing Atheists (whose album I discovered I had two copies of recently…), Walt WXYZ of Tarbeach Records and Thee Effits, jazz bassist Iain Wyper and Dominic Gallagher on all sorts of other “sonic wizardry.” Mella Barnes provides exquisite vocals on a couple of tracks while Alan Cochrane adds saxophone to the mix . 

The bands sound revolves around a key theme of dub reggae, a sound which perhaps originates from a misspent youth spent following The Clash and being influenced by their dub tracks, and by default a raft of influential reggae acts, and it infiltrates a majority of the songs here. Hypnotic heavy dub beats aren’t all this collective can put their hands to though, far from being one trick ponies the songs in the bands repertoire also dip their toes into other waters. Among other styles, they take things to the downright soulful on the likes of the powerful elegance of Brittle and they master jazz-tinged soulful blues on the albums spirited closer Million Miles.

The albums opener comes in the guise of the deep bass vibration of The Whip, a dub reggae infused track that warrants being played at extreme volume to allow that bass to throb through your whole body and the rhythm to take you. Peter Lacey provides the languid vocal to help ease the load that life brings. No whip needed. The first song to  feature Jonzip on vocals, Blackhill Transmitter, takes the band closer to its roots geographically. In the days before the world wide web where information and music became instantaneously available online, the Blackhill Transmitter was the “source of all knowledge” providing TV and radio signals to 2.5 million central belt residents since 1957. Jonzip’s vocal is instantly recognisable, with the backing vocal providing a perfect contrast.  As Blackhill Transmitter fades, the eerie spectral intro to Cain’s Ghost takes hold and introduces a third vocalist with Joe Whyte taking on lead vocal duties, a rough and ready gruff low drawl that matches the tone of the music perfectly.

A pulsating dub groove takes centre stage on the classy instrumental Prophets of Dub, blending synth grooves with lush brass and some blissed out guitar riffs. Peter Lacey takes the lead again with vocals on Between You and the Sea, resplendent with organ and paired with further ambient instrumentation giving the song a peaceful chilled flow. Eye for an Eye takes us back to some heavy dub again with the addition of melodica giving it a spaghetti western feel, the lyrics perhaps illustrating the gulf between left and right these days with seemingly no desire to meet in the middle – “eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” 

Can’t Stop the River brings the tempo down again slightly, staccato drum beats underline a Hammond organ with complementary trumpet soundtrack Jonzip’s understated vocal, joined by Mella Barnes providing a foil in the chorus. Mella takes lead vocal on the mellow soul of Brittle, but don’t be fooled by the nature of the melody, the lyrics are a hard-hitting indictment of men and abuse in all its forms “brittle, brutal, brutalised, scandalised, one day you’ll realise why I broke so easy.” Beautifully thought provoking. The penultimate track, Homage to E.H. still has us in soulful territory but giving more of a bluesy jazz feel with the addition of saxophone from Alan Cochrane and some atmospheric piano lines complementing the funk guitar that kicks in mid-song, the instrumental track building in tempo before closing out the way it came in.

This is a subtly addictive album, its tracks don’t so much hit you full in the face as creep up on you and tap you on the shoulder, with a “pssst have you heard this?” as the subtle rhythms infiltrate your brain, the dub beats provide a smooth groove and a calming soundtrack for these most dystopian of days. 

The album closes with more than a hint of an assured swagger with the aforementioned Million Miles, a smooth and soulful bluesy funk song not a million miles from some of the 1980s white boy soul/funk we all remember from the likes of Hipsway. Pete’s laidback vocal on this one even channeling the deep honeyed vocals of Graham Skinner. Muted guitar riffs are combined with the saxophone from Alan Cochrane once again to great effect. As the song fades it also starts giving me shades of another 80s band, in the shape of the inimitable Win. A fine reference to finish with as Million Miles is the song that seals the victory.

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