The 'Extended Playtime' EP by Septic and the Tanks

Photo: Sarah Croom

All Septic and the Tanks fans will be aware that they recorded some tracks at The Moonbase in November 2024 before Robin departed for Down Under and during the consequent break from gigging, we have reviewed the singles "Sympathy for the Cat" and "Your Face Is Everywhere" from those sessions.

Now Sophie is heading in a similar direction and so their next gig will await the return of both of them. In the meantime, their new EP ‘Extended Playtime' is available on Bandcamp from 12^th December & other platforms from the following day.

I'm delighted to say that the remaining three UK located members of the band (Sarah, Lucy & Jim) will be present at the ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser at The Tin on December 12^th to play the EP exclusively to the audience between sets by Grail Guard, RobinPlaysChords, The Sunbathers and The Rascals. (Tickets via: https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/hot-music-live-presents-grail-the-tin-at-the-coal-tickets/13893164)

So of the seven songs (what value!) on the EP you'll know those two singles already. You may think you know two more as the tracks "Continental Breakfast" and "Cheeseboard Monologue" which appeared on their eponymous debut album last year, are on there too.

However these are radically remixed versions & excellent examples of the originality you can get where a track has potential for reinterpretation & someone has the ability to tease it out.

I always felt that given the style of their rhythm section of Sarah & Sophie, the band had avenues of the dubwise style to explore. The team at Sofa So Good (check out their own original track "Psychic Flashes" on ‘Hot Music Live Presets Volume Fifteen') have worked their magic on "Continental Breakfast" and produced a stunning epic which complements the original yet is almost a brand new track. This gem has got to be up there with The Slits' similar excursions: although Sarah debuted it at a Cov Sauce last year, this magnificence needs to be played frequently on all dance floors: I'm anticipating a great effect on the 12^th. Credit too to  Chris Fairless who mixed and mastered it.

"Cheeseboard Monologue" however is a Petrol Bastard remix (if the name seems famiiar, please scroll back through our Stegosaurus Sex Party reviews) and so comes at the song from a technopunk angle: Ben & Jon creating a completely different effect from the above yet just as ear opening and vibrant. That one band can produce work capable of such differing remixing is pretty commendable.

The three other original tracks are "Dig You", "Gutter's Calling" and "Playtime" and here we are closer to the classic Septic live sound: what you'll hear when the Fantastic Five reunite on a stage near you.

As is well known by now, the band largely invented themselves during lockdown: so much so that by the time they unveiled, their prowess progress had been pretty staggering: as numerous previous reviews have indicated. These newer songs therefore reflect further developments: ones honed by many more hours playing together, exploring what their skills could unlock & I would imagine the tidal wave of positive feedback which they received once they'd got going but which of course had yet to be made available to them while they were creating the first batch of songs.

Consequently individual players tend to have more obviously prominent roles in the arrangements: increased confidence has encouraged them to occasionally step out of the supportive embrace of collective ensemble playing to take turns in the spotlight: one prime example being Lucy's banjo which is much more to the fore now & forms the spine of songs like "Gutter's Calling" and ushers in "Playtime" rather than just adding embellishments.

These are thoughtful, well constructed & performed songs: the only element which may have diminished being the surreal & near demented battiness which culminated in "Sky Snakes": but since topping that is probably impossible, best to turn in other directions I imagine.

The same applies to the vocals too: Robin, having set the benchmark with the earlier songs, now dials down the unmitigated deluge of their onslaught which so characterised the trademark sound of the debut and reveals a wider range of techniques and affective approaches: most nootably on "Playtime" which might possibly represent the Septic and the Tanks' paradigm shift so startlingly different is it to other songs: if there is to be a "Phase 2" of their career along these lines than this might be a good choice to be a single to launch it.

Obviously which Tanks are available at any given time dictates all future activiyt & I'm not placing bets on what comes up beyond their stated desire to play when possible, but on this evidence, the band, which excited me & so many others when it first revealed itself now dangles many more intriguing potentialities before us: listening to ‘Extended Playtime' the prospects of a second album exploring the sort of options they do here is very exciting. On the other hand, as the EP title reminds us, they started the band to have fun and they seem to be still doing that and presumably would stop if that no longer applied. May they carry on enjoying themselves & causing us our own enjoyment for a long time.