lo-fi acoustic punk from anti folk group, like Julian Cope meets Half Man half Biscuit

Anti folk group Misterlee have toured with such disparate artists as Jeff Buckley, Jeffery Lewis, Sebadoh and Mountain Goats. This couldn’t begin to describe their sound though. It is lo-fi acoustic punk as evidenced by the startling opener ‘Adolf Hitler,’ that opens their fourth album ‘The Disquiet Dog.’ The band are Lee Allatson and Jamie Smith and it was recorded in South Leicestershire.

‘Stags of Schipol,’ reminds me of Julian Cope’s ‘Reynard the Fox.’ The lyrics are of a similar random nature. ‘The waitress it is clear is not from the WI,’ apparently. ‘Littleman (We’re Alive Here),’ talks of ‘revolutions, t-shirts, all fakery in clown shoes. Roll it over little brother there’s too much to lose.’ On this song Allatson’s vocal reminds me of John Lennon. You could almost substitute the words ‘But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao. You ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow.’ ‘Stay Down Luke,’ would appear to be directed at an imaginary soldier. ‘If your heads above the parapet they shoot the legs from under you,’ they chant as a dog barks in the background.

This is essentially poetry set to Ukulele, banjo, violin, found sounds and extraneous synths. There are moments of brilliance here but equally it is hard to take on board to Misterlee’s strange world. One of their lyrics is ‘Reality is a stranger under these studio lights.’ Really never a truer word was spoken.
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Mandy Williams