Bats Tidied Up Heliport: Jumble Hole Clough Goes Full Chaos
Alright, let’s get one thing straight—Bats Tidied Up Heliport isn’t your grandma’s playlist. This 2018 brainchild from UK-based weirdo collective Jumble Hole Clough is a wild ride through genres you didn’t even know could coexist. Rock? Sure. Electronic? Yeah, okay. But throw in ambient soundscapes, avant-garde nonsense, post-rock vibes, and prog rock indulgence? It’s like they threw darts at a genre wheel while blackout drunk.
First off, props to them for naming their tracks like cryptic inside jokes only they understand. Take John Wayne Is Big Wobbulator, for instance. What the hell does that even mean?! Spoiler alert: no idea, but it slaps. The track kicks off with this glitchy, almost industrial beat that feels like someone dropped an old Speak & Spell into a blender. Then BAM—it shifts gears hard, morphing into this sprawling mess of distorted guitars and ethereal synths. You’re not sure if you should headbang or meditate, which honestly sums up the whole damn album.
Then there’s Pink Prestwich. If I had to pick one song to shove down your ears, it’d be this chaotic masterpiece. It starts off slow, all moody and atmospheric, like walking through fog in some abandoned town. But then—WHAM—it erupts into this explosive crescendo that sounds like Pink Floyd got into a bar fight with Aphex Twin. By the time it fizzles out, you’re left wondering what just hit you. And trust me, you’ll want to hit replay immediately.
The rest of the album keeps the chaos train rolling. Tracks like Sack-Truck And Ashes and Memo To Machete feel like sonic experiments gone gloriously wrong, while A Windswept Beach Hut (Haiku) throws curveballs so sharp you might trip over them. Oh, and don’t get me started on That’s Cheating - But In A Good Way. That title alone deserves a medal.
But here’s the kicker—this album doesn’t care whether you “get it” or not. It’s unapologetically bonkers, refusing to play by any rules except its own twisted logic. Released under Not On Label (because of course it was), Bats Tidied Up Heliport feels less like a traditional record and more like stumbling across someone’s secret diary written entirely in code.
So yeah, if you’re looking for something safe, predictable, or remotely normal, steer clear. But if you’ve got a taste for raw, unhinged creativity, crank this sucker up loud enough to piss off your neighbors. Just don’t blame me when you find yourself humming about wobbulators and witch elms for days.
Random thought: I bet these guys would ace a game of charades. Or completely ruin it. Either way, count me in.
