After a decade in music, it seems a fine time dues were paid to one of the true survivors in independent, original music. Dawn Of The Replicants seemed out of place on the Warners label at the start of their career and - sure enough - they were dropped after two brave and brilliant albums. Sadly, such was the off-kilter nature of their music (possible reference points include Rolling Stones, Captain Beefheart), the casual listener never quite hooked on to their magic and thus they continue releasing records on their own label; culminating in this year's disappointing 'Fangs'.
Listening to their brilliant early singles, the incredible point to note is how exciting the likes of 'Cocaine On The Catwalk' and 'Lisa Box'. This is down to two things: the subversive nature of their music (the former is a scruffy glam rocker whilst the latter is modern psychedelia par excellence) and the srength of their tunes. It would, of course, be remiss not to mention 'Candlefire'; a single that could have been hailed as a 'Strawberry Fields Forever' for a 1990s generation but its minor chart placing proved otherwise.
The form continued into the late 1990s, namely for the "three melodies for the price one" 'Rule The Roost' and the more mainstream (but no less brilliantly intense) 'Science Fiction Freak'. Alas, the lack of a record label meant the lack of a production budget and the chronological order of this compilation shows up the "back to basics" route the group were possibly forced to go down. At least the songs themselves didn't diminish too much in quality. Indeed, as 'Everyone In Heaven Is Afraid Of Heights' and 'Ricecake Rabbit Soul' testify, the wit, weirdness and relentless aim to sound different to everyone else still continues to serve them well. So what price 'Bust The Trunk Part 2' in ten years' time?