a.P.A.t.T. are a collective formed in Liverpool in 1998 and are pretty much impossible to classify! United by their branded nurses' outfits, but performing with everything from 2 to 7 members and going through a constant evolution of hardware and software changes, the group fuses mathy, synth-led moments with almost Klezmery freak-outs rendered in accordion, strings, brass and piano. Think the missing link between The Locust, Danielson Famile and A Hawk and A Hacksaw and you may be getting close!

'SPLIT' W / PEEPHOLES

Village Idiot

UTR014 | 12" | 14 tracks, 40 mins | August 2010 | Buy

a.P.A.t.T. share this 12" circle of vinyl with Peepholes, courtesy of Upset The Rhythm's 'Split' series. They manage to defy time somehow and cram 8 songs onto their side, also known as 'Paul The Record'.

With opener 'The Village Idiot', a.P.A.t.T. achieve a highpoint in their career so far - it's a perfectly scored absurdist piece for clarinet, piano, guitar and drums, bursting with energy and enough invention to make Patton and Zappa double take. It's a tour de force, with a.P.A.t.T. firing on all weird cylinders.

The rest of the album lives up to its illustrious beginning, taking in schmaltz pastiche, Devo punk, a diatribe against Tamla Motown and a classy rock out in aid of the 'Maggot Fairy'. It's the end or the distant future of music and one day the whole world will appreciate the truly labrynthine appeal of a.P.A.t.T.'s approach to music.