The Filthy Tongues

Now shorn of lead singer Stacey Charvis, Isa & The Filthy Tongues have now become The Filthy Tongues and oh, how they grown.

The Filthy Tongues have a dark and unwholesome edge to their sound. Moody and borderline psychotic, the music swirls and howls around the three vocal elements taking us on a journey through the unseen underbelly of Edinburgh.
Oh, and it is incredibly enticing and involving. You have to listen and listen deep. You have to put yourself in the subjects and the places, take in the smells and the squishy underfoot. One listen to this album and you will feel glad that The Filthy Tongues are living this instead of you.

If you want hooks to hang this on then maybe Nick Cave in his darkest moments or Wily Bo Walker’s dark Americana imagery.

The song titles add to the mood through ‘The Ghost Of Rab McVie’ or ‘Mother’s Got A Knife’ , ‘Leper Town or ‘Carlos The Jackal’, all telling tales that you just want to know more about.

The fiddle that opens ‘The Ghost Of Rab McVie’ is chilling and the harmonium drone sets you up for a tale of the loss people feel as their home is dragged upmarket and their sense of place is taken away as the new classes move in.
The title track has a swirling dreaminess to it – nightmarish and heavy. The strings serving to disorient the listener while the guitar lines and the insistent drumming just pound the darkness into the brain of the listener.
‘Leper Town’ is probably one of the most straightforward songs here but once again it tells a horrid tale over the fall from grace and finding yourself in the mire.

All told, this is a superb album, full of shades from dark grey to deepest black but still uttely listenable to – in fact it demands your attention. I love it.

The band are playing a few shows to launch the album:
• LONDON: Dublin Castle 19/04/18
• BRIGHTON: The Prince Albert 21/04/18
• KIRKCALDY: Windsor 27/04/18