It has been six years since the Mike TV boys released their first wittily titled ‘Mike TV’ album. This was of course after the change from the earlier days of the band being a threesome of musical prowess, with an equally powerful name ‘Pickled Dick’. But now, with two different members, Jhon Cosgrove making his hair just one colour, and a lot of biscuits eaten by Glyn, ‘Sausage Hospital’ has surfaced… and it’s bloody good.
‘Sausage Hospital’, so named because it is “full of sick bangers”, starts with a cracking introduction. Four men harmonising the words: ‘Welcome to the Sausage Hospital’ is as strange as you think, but my god it is epic. The start of the album seems like we are back in the old Pickled Dick days, with ‘Letting Go’, ‘Earworm’ and ‘Alcoholocaustic’ just waking you up, and giving you an insight into what’s to come. But just when you think you know how this 18 track epic is going to pan out, you get ‘Dear Bill Hicks’. ‘We’ll flush away those mass produced pop turds that float to the top’ is declared in the chorus and you know what, they do exactly what they say on the tin. Mike TV won’t be anything like what you are listening to at the minute, and after you listen, you will wonder why.
[quote]You’re probably wondering why this is all positive and as a reviewer I should criticise a change of direction or a misplaced key change, but it just doesn’t happen. [/quote]
They produce the ‘same old ballad for the broken hearts’ with ‘Fade In Blue’ and this once again really steps up a gear and keeps you guessing about what’s next on the album. Without a doubt, it is a clear highlight and one that you will stick on repeat. Just when you think you are being taken down a different road, you get a smack in the face from ‘Let Down’. Its positioning in the album is phenomenal and it throws you back to the fast paced start as if introducing you to the double figures of the album. ‘90’s Teenager’ is one of the tracks initially released by the band, and is a humble tribute to people who will never know what a cassette is. ‘Liquid Squidge’ again is just another level of what the band can produce. They really are very good.
You’re probably wondering why this is all positive and as a reviewer I should criticise a change of direction or a misplaced key change, but it just doesn’t happen. It is a great feel good album, with phenomenal riffs and powerful energy. For me ‘Pasquinade’ is the track of the album. It reminisces about the Pickled Dick days, combining acoustic and pop/punk to deliver a track that you will be singing all day. Literally, all day. ‘So we’ll go on with the show, it’s an all dayer in Norwich, oh no! And we’ll tour, sleep on your floor, we are the new Status Quo’. It is a chorus that’s infectious, one that you want to sing aloud, and one that you won’t stop singing aloud. Like I said, all day.
After that we get told to ‘Ferme La Bouche’ and then we are back to where we started with ‘Farewell from the Sausage Hospital.’ It’s gone like an epic blur, as if you’ve had a night out with Charlie Sheen whilst never leaving Harrods. Crazy but done with finesse.
Give it a listen on their Bandcamp, Pick up a copy from their Bigcartel, just make sure you appreciate ‘Sausage Hospital’ because it really is an epic album.
Daniel Jones
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