Ordinary Bloke / I Am Invisible
Following their impressive 2023 album Folkadelia, Dorset’s rural music menagerie that are The Two Man Travelling Medicine Show return. The band have once again found new creativity and are set to release their double-A side single of “Ordinary Bloke” & “I Am Invisible” on 18th April. This 7-piece outfit continue to thrill audiences across the South Coast with their heady mix of fairground music and socially aware lyrics. The tracks were all recorded in the barn where the band rehearse, expertly engineered by drummer Charlie Waygood with the mastering done by Matt Black at Hangover Hill Studio.
The first of the two tracks “I Am Invisible”, frontman Mark Lyons explains “tells the tale of both keeping your head down and kicking back from the inside. Like imagining a revolution but with love not violence. Done with positivity and not negativity where we all storm parliament and everyone lives happily ever after. It’s sort of Gospel-tinged Folk with a Punk spirit -think George Michael meets Crass”. From the start Alison’s violin beautifully serenades before Mark’s unmistakable reliable vocal joins the further instrumentation of acoustic guitar and simple effective rhythms.
The band have always focused on the traditional approach and the fundamental draw of the band is that they have always kept things orthodox. Think Woodie Guthrie, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, with a handful of more modern influences too thrown in for good measure. It’s a great tune and shows the fine chemistry that the ensemble have built up from their years performing together.
The 2nd track entitled “Ordinary Bloke” depicts an average Friday night in pubs up and down the UK which was written after watching the Summer riots unfold in the UK 2024. The utter shock at the anger and the violence that followed, an observation rather than a sermon. The lyrics were taken from an argument that singer Mark overheard in a pub before soundcheck at one of their gigs. Every lyric in it was actually said between the two groups verbatim. It just wrote itself as he used the whole conversation put to music. It’s meant to be an observation and not a sermon.
The track starts with some wonderfully propelling arrangement, with the gang working beautifully in unison with fine backing to the impassioned vocal. One of the things that always stands out is the cheeky chappie Brad’s fine banjo skills that gives the track that extra “je ne sais quoi”. The band will once again be found throughout the Summer playing a host of festivals and specially selected shows throughout the region.
The Band Features
Mark Lyons – Vocals/Acoustic Guitar
Martin Giles – Vocals/Guitar
Steve Wareham – Vocals/Percussion
Seb Hartley – Harmonica
Rob Volwes – Bass
Charlie Waygood – Drums
Aison Jay- Violin
Brad Watt – Banjo
Links
https://www.musicalbearrecords.co.uk/the-two-man-travelling-medicine-show
https://www.facebook.com/TheTwoManTravellingMedicineShow
Words By David Chinery (Chinners).
