Micko & The Mellotronics
Parked Car
There is a something quintessential British about Micko & The Mellotronics, from the way frontman Micko Westmorland dresses, his quirky lyrics of everyday life and strange encounters, to the deliberately detailed and descriptive words and phrases, delivered in a homegrown accent. I like that; it remind me of Syd Barratt, Ian Dury & The Blockheads and The Kinks all rolled into one glorious effulgence. My first encounter was the wonderful Psychedelic Shirt from the equally wonderful ½ Dove ½ Pigeon album released in 2020. Micko’s star has continued to shine, with a plum spot at The Neil Inness memorial concert in 2024, alongside members of The Rutles and Monty Python, Yo La Tengo, Woody Woodmansey and Emo Philips.
Parked Car (out 31st march), from the forthcoming album Trinity, released on the 12th June is another slab slab of Mickodelia with a beautiful Sixties’ Barry Gray style vibe running through it – thumping basslines, soaring fuzz guitars and descending arpeggios, backed by a solid beat. Like many of Micko’s songs there is a story running through it – Parked Car is about an illicit affair and the ‘vehicle that facilitated it’, and the aftermath.
What Micko says: “Parked Car attempts to unpick a tangled web in the 1970s, about a discreetly managed affair which ends in complete write off. Mix that with Catholic guilt and the consequence of harsh judgement. Faced with a hard choice, to escape a bad situation.”
Parked Car is a great addition to the band’s repertoire, highly engaging and, and as with many of The Mellotronics’ stuff, uplifting and upbeat.
More on Parked car:
“Divorce was taboo and as a result lots of unhappy people resorted to relationships of this kind. In an affair there are no winners, and the consequences ripple outward, often affecting many. The song examines the shame that comes with being condemned and how the woman so often bears the brunt of the blame.”
Stark, frank and intimate by nature, the new single explores emotional territory that Micko believes is often neglected by many contemporary male writers. Ultimately, “Parked Car’ reflects on the fallout from circumstances when things are simply not right. Executive produced by Chris Kimsey (Rolling Stones), the track arrives on 31st March as the fourth single ahead of the band’s new album ‘The Trinity’, which is set for release this summer.
News just in: Legendary producer John Leckie (Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Muse) has just agreed to produce The Spammed, Micko’s side project, alongside Kevin Eldon (who also performed at the Neil Innes memorial), Rat Scabies, Horace Panter and Terry Edwards!
Where can you here it – Pre-save here: Parked Car
Enagage
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Words by Nigel Carr/Micko Westmorland. More writing by Nigel on Louder Than War can be found in his Author’s archive. You can find Nigel on Twitter and Facebook. Nigel is the Executive Producer of New Dawn Fades – A Play About Joy Division and Manchester which is touring this Autumn from 1 September.
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