SOILED MATTRESS & THE SPRINGS are a three piece instrumental band from New York City. The band consists of cartoonist Matthew Thurber, who plays his sax with punchy and uplifting vigour, Aviram Cohen, who lends insistent garage rock beats and keyboardist, Peter Schuette whose sprightly hooks interlock with the other instruments making for an intuitive leap into a world of upbeat imagination.

Their music draws on the culmination of many different styles alongside a tasteful indulgence in humour and playfulness. Their sound is characterised by exuberance, a sense of fun and a love of melody, holding above all the power of the note in high esteem. Hailing from the same amped scene as friends and contemporaries NO AGE and BARR, Soiled Mattress & The Springs similarly tread the thin line between art and music with the same optimistic aplomb. At once at home in the crazy world of Arthur Brown as much as the leftfield pastures of Henry Cow.

'HONK HONK BONK!'

Jackpot | Tidal Wave

UTR017 | Digipack CD | 14 tracks, 38 mins | 3 Dec 2007

'Honk Honk Bonk!' is the debut full length release from Soiled Mattress & The Springs. Collecting together 2006's super-rare 'Springtime!' EP material with eight new tracks, this record showcases Soiled Mattress & The Springs' talent for infectious melody, dance-conscious glee and intelligent composition, all committed with a defiant jazz flair on saxophone, keyboard and drums. Successfully capturing the manic energy and breezy nature of their live show, 'Honk Honk Bonk!' is a surprising and utterly enjoyable left hook from the underground.

The song 'Hong Kong Bong' is a great example of what Soiled Mattress are all about with its countless twists and turns to unexpected melodic avenues, some energetic, others laid back, some awkward and discordant yet always moving on like a narrative brainwave. The two songs entitled 'Someone's Drinking Water' are similarly eclectic, the first a soulful happy-go-lucky swell of cyclical wistfulness, the second a slower paced voyage of freeform flourishes and interweaving rhythms which bloom with joyous abandon when the drums pick up.

Then there's the mysterious interludes filled with funny bone percussion, swarming strings, broken fairground electronics and memory lapses. 'Tidal Wave' is the ultimate summer jam, rising out of its reluctant slumbers to shake and enliven with its strident punk-styled approach to melodic simplicity and compositional adventure. 'Jackpot' and 'Cherry On Top' are just great addictive pop tunes.

'Honk Honk Bonk' is a sincere, irony-free attempt to make a positive, inventive and totally awesome record. It's about fun, freewheeling, friendship and most of all doing something different. Just like the skyline of New York City Soiled Mattress & The Springs are reaching for the highest heights and will remain imprinted in our minds forever. Soiled Mattress & The Springs make some of the most lively and delightful music out there, their brisk attitude with their songs and their unexpected approach only affirming that further.