If you’re not familiar with Cardiacs, prepare to be blown away.

Cardiacs are a British band formed in 1977. Combining the excitement and energy of punk rock with the intricacies and technical cleverness of early British progressive rock, a combination sometimes referred to as pronk

They incorporate sounds from countless different bands, creating an original signature style of their own. Different people will be attracted by different facets, for me it was the Genesis-like keyboard progressions and VDGGy vocal and sax lines, all put through the hi-energy punk blender. For a start, here’s one of their early vids, for the song ‘RES’

That should give you a taste of what they’re like. For extra weirdness you may be interested in reading their official history. Cardiacs‘ golden era were the mid and late 80s, during that time the basic four-piece (including guitarist/vocalist/mastermind Tim Smith and his brother Jim on bass, the only constant members of the band) was complemented by:

  • percussionist Tim Quy
  • keyboards genius William D. Drake, alternating the aforementioned epic mellotron bits with wacky circus melodies
  • saxophone chick Sarah Smith

After the three left, Cardiacs used pre-recorded backing tracks for their parts during gigs, which is a bit of a letdown. The best way to witness the golden lineup in action is watching the Maresnest concert video – here’s a track off it called ‘Everything is Easy’:

The current lineup, featuring guitarist Kavus Torabi, who also plays with the amazing Guapo – whose new album Elixirs is set to come out this May – is supposedly recording a new album this year. Here’s a video of them rehearsing a really old song for their 2005 tour – ‘Jibber and Twitch’:

Finally, from the Maresnest video, one of the most awesome songs ever written – ‘Is This The Life?’

If you’re still with me after all this, you’ve earned yourself Songs for Ships and Irons! :D