Following his standout debut live session for BBC Introducing earlier this year, and support from Apple Music, Amazing Radio and numerous press tastemakers for its preceding singles, Messy Eater finally released the full ‘Southern Fried’ EP on the 22nd of August.
Inspired by the wildly inventive sampling adventures of The Avalanches and The Dust Brothers’ production on Beck’s ‘Odelay’ and the Beastie Boys’ ‘Paul’s Boutique’, Messy Eater mixes up dusty southern US blues, soul and country samples, 90s hip hop beats and wry lyrical observations on modern life with an idiosyncratic 21st century flair.
Opener ‘Slowcoach’ (“a genre-melting joyride” (Unrecorded)) sets the scene: a slow swaggering boom bap beat and sampled blues guitar riff underpin a huge singalong chorus that celebrates escape from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind: “I hear people say, there’s not enough hours in the day / not so fast / slowcoach”.
This is followed by the reflective ‘On The Right Track’ (“infectiously grooving… instantly catchy… wonderful” (Plastic Mag)) and ‘I Think I’m Headed For A Breakdown’, which is the sound of barely-contained existential crisis bursting out in an anthemic chorus: “I’m headed for a breakdown… / when is my next holiday? / I need a duvet day” before detouring into oddball sampling of self-help mantras.
The two previously unreleased tracks reveal further dimensions to Messy Eater’s kaleidoscopic sound: the urgent ‘Keep On (I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead)’ surges forward with a hooky brass sample, driving bass and insistent lyrics “time is money and money is time!”; while closer ‘All Out Of Time’ takes us back to a head-nodding hip hop groove, crackly organ and harmonica samples and tongue-in-cheek lyrics: “I’ve spent a lifetime mining for gold / now we’re all using plastic to pay”.
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