The Lickerish Quartet – ‘Snollygoster Goon’: Jellyfish bods back in the groove


DO YOU miss the prog-psych-powerpop odysseys of Nineties’ San Fran outfit Jellyfish? All those empurpled paisley power ideas thrown into a thrilling mix?

Well listen up, listen up; Jellyfish’s Roger Joseph Manning Jr, Tim Smith and Eric Dover, who’ve been plying their respective individual trades with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Slash’s Snake Pit, the Finn Brothers, Alice Cooper, Air and Beck in the intervening years, are about to put out their second EP; and more importantly, their first official UK release, on indie imprint Lojinx.

Threesome Vol. 2, the new four-tracker, comes hot on the heels of erm … Threesome Vol. 1, which got a US-only release in May, and was lurved by the critics.

That little beaut contained such gems such as “Lighthouse Spaceship”.

Philosophical question: If we had no Jellyfish, could we have had Lemon Twigs?

Ahead of the EP’s release on January 8th, the three-piece have dropped the video for lead track “Snollygoster Goon” – you can watch it below.

And it’s like they’ve been away; that hyperconnected melting pot of East Coast rock, pop melody, Queen-style choral harmony, furious guitars … ain’t it good to be back?

Eric Dover says of “Snollygoster Goon”: The music is Adderall-based, in theory, to reflect the absolute breakneck speed at which the corruption flourishes. A frenetic forensic foray into classic old-as-civilization themes involving greed, graft and corruption as applied to any political sphere. The snake oil salesman kissing babies, the saccharine unimaginative public image.”

(In case you were wondering, snollygoster is a 19th-century word for a corrupt politician or holder of public office; a word that’s recently been having a revival. Funny that.)

The EP will also contain “The Dream That Took Me Over”, “Sovereignty Blues,” and “Do You Feel Better?”: all the songs taken from the trio’s reuniting sessions, which have been under way since 2017.

To quote Tim Smith: “We invite you to put the top down and take a ride … “Threesome Vol. 2 finds our threesome in fine form, with four new songs to get you through COVID times and beyond!”

Threesome Vol. 2 will be released by Lojinx on digital download, CD and vinyl on January 8th; it’s available to pre-order in the right now.

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