Punk Prog at its finest.
“Not without a Fight” recorded August 2000. Written by David Gulvin and Tony Gulvin.
Tag: David Gulvin
Fighting Generation Bland: The Short Career of Ordinary Psycho
The English band Ordinary Psycho enjoyed a short but brilliant burst of life from about 1997 to 2004.
Their first EP, “Introducing Ordinary Psycho, Special Limited Discovery CD (With Marion Crane,” offered the world only twenty minutes of music. So well crafted, though, the music continues to speak to me after innumerable listens over the past sixteen years. Enjoying its pleasures as I type this piece, the music seems as alive to me today as it did in 1998. In 2000, they released their first LP, The New Gothick LP (sometimes just The New Gothic–without the k). A year later, they released their second and final LP, Vol. II.
https://progarchy.com/2013/09/24/ordinary-psycho-calling-david-gulvin/
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post—back in September 2013—I first encountered the music through a Talk Talk discussion group sponsored by a Danish website. David Gulvin, one of the two founders of Ordinary Psycho, popped into the discussion offering the band’s introductory cd. I requested one, and, lo and behold, it showed up in the States only a week or so later. I immediately fell in love with it, and I still consider it one of my most prized cds (out of a rather unseemly large collection!).
The brain child of brothers Tony and David Gulvin, Ordinary Psycho incorporates normal rock instruments—guitar, bass, and drums—but the band also employs lots of real strings (viola and cello, predominately), piano, double bass, and various forms of percussion. In the background to many of their songs, one can hear church choirs, children’s choirs, soundbites, samples of everyday life, and movie dialogue. All of the music warrants careful listening and high-quality headphones.
In the band’s only EP, “Introducing Ordinary Psycho,” the 20-plus minutes of music tell a story revolving around Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Psycho (based originally on Robert Bloch’s novel of the same name). In what could best be described as a theatrical play or actually interesting performance art, Ordinary Psycho manages to ask the most important existential questions for any person—who am I, why am I here, what do I do—in a soundscape that flows as naturally as human creativity allows in this rather crazy world. The production on this little EP is immaculate and the flow of the music and the lyrics simply perfect. Again, though I’ve heard the story of Marion Crane told many, many times, it never fails to grab me. This is how powerful the Gulvin brothers can be in their art.
The lyrics of all three releases titillate the intellect as well as the soul. No mere lyrics of “baby, baby”, the Gulvin brothers offer some of the most serious social and cultural criticisms I’ve ever encountered since Roger Waters and before Andy Tillison. “Generation X gave away to Generation Bland” screams one of the first lines of the first song of the first album. The brothers employ lots of Catholic imagery (Gnostic, too), critiques of anything bureaucratic (corporate, governmental, or educational), and an existential embrace of some vision of life ranging from the carnival-esque and to what would be considered mildly anarchist and libertarian.
Though one can hear many of these same themes throughout the three Ordinary Psycho releases (always creatively presented and often with raw anger), no style of music predominates. Any attempt at labeling this music would fail miserably. There are straight rock, prog, punk, folk, theatrical/music, and acid elements throughout. Never does any album, song, or passage move predictably, though, and one style easily and readily blends into another. Each album makes sense, however, and each clearly and abundantly overflows with intense imagery and equally intense creativity.
Sadly, there’s very little to find about the band or its history. It’s official website, www.ordinary-psycho.co.uk is defunct. Utterly kaput. Across the web are questions from fans asking such things, repeatedly, as “Does anyone know what happened to Ordinary Psycho?” or “Does anyone know where to find” this or that Ordinary Psycho release? But, there’s no solid information out there. When I googled the band, I came up with the piece I wrote about them last September. I could quote myself, but I know as little about the band’s actual history today as I did then. So, quoting myself would only be vain.
From what I can tell (and I have received a very nice email from Tony Gulvin, but with no details about the band or why it called it quits), the band began in the mid 1990s, released the EP and the two LPs, and ended itself around 2004.
Youtube has a couple of songs available as well as a few videos of some live performances. Classic Rock (the magazine) had one article about the band in July 2000, though it, in and of itself, is a bizarre article [as a quick note—I was able to access this about a year ago, but I’m unable to access it as I’m writing this piece]. It’s clear that the writer for Classic Rock had no idea how to classify the band.
It’s also very difficult to locate any of the Ordinary Psycho releases any where, even in specialty shops on the web. But, you should try. Really, you should. You should track these releases down as quickly as you can. Make it a treasure hunt (sorry, I have small children–such enthusiastic imperatives just come into existence from time to time!)! Listening to this band is an absolute feast for the ears, the mind, and the soul. I’m sorry they only produced what they produced. But, holy schnikees, it’s so much better to produce one great thing (or three great things) than a load of trash. Really.
That Ordinary Psycho was and remains a cult band only adds to its mystery. I feel today about the Gulvin Brothers the way many in the 1970s and 1980s felt about J.D. Salinger. His absence only added to his attraction.
Still, if the Gulvin brothers re-emerged, they’d find no greater fan than yours truly.
If nothing else, Tony and David, please release all of your music through Soundcloud or Bandcamp so that the world can enjoy your sheer brilliance. In this surreal existence of sorrows, the Good Lord knows we can always use a little extra truth, beauty, and goodness.
*****
Ordinary Psycho’s Discography
EP
“Introducing Ordinary Psycho, Special Limited Edition Discovery CD (With Marion Crane)”
LPs
The New Gothic LP (2000)
Vol. II (2001)
Ordinary Psycho’s Brief But Intense Burst: A Sampling
Official website: http://www.ordinary-psycho.co.uk. Totally and completely and absolutely defunct.
*****
A few songs, however, exist–however legally?–at Youtube. Prog, rock, prog rock, folk, prog folk, acid prog, carnival prog, anarchist prog, Thoreauvian prog?
What say you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5L-wiSQX0w
Talk Talk Meets New Model Army: Ordinary Psycho: Vol. II
Not long ago on progarchy, I wrote about a demo ep sent to me, way back in the late 1990s. The lead singer of the band, Ordinary Psycho, David Gulvin, offered a copy to any of the main participants of Within Without, a Danish-run site dedicated to the music of Mark Hollis.
In response to my recent post, fondly remembering how much pleasure that small cd has given me over a decade and a half, the guitarist, Tony Gulvin, sent progarchy a copy of the band’s second lp, Vol. II.
Holy Schnikees. Yes, let me quote the late Chris Farley one more time: Holy Schnikees.
This is a masterpiece, a gorgeously textured and nuanced cd that should be very well known by all readers of progarchy. Holy Schnikees. Yes, I had to state this for a third time. In sum (and I’ll write more later), this CD helps explain much of the leap from the late 1980s and early 1990s contemplative goth and post-rock to the full-blown explosion of third-wave prog around 2000. Imagine New Model Army asking Roger Waters and Mark Hollis to join a common band. You’d be very, very close to what is produced with Vol. II. And, just in case you doubt the prog credentials, Emerald Part I is 9:02 long, and Emerald Part II is a little over 4:38 long, followed by 21 minutes of silence! Move aside, Porcupine Tree. This is the real deal. Drums, guitar, bass, and anguished voices mix profoundly with woodwinds, piano, and strings.
I’m eager to give this CD a full review. How did I ever miss this? Thank God, I have it now. Well, at least, thank Tony Gulvin!
Ordinary Psycho: Calling David Gulvin
In the 1990s, I was very active on the now basically defunct website/chatgroup Within Without: A Website Dedicated to the Music of Mark Hollis and Talk Talk.
Dane Henrik Aakjaer founded and ran it, and he did so with a certain grace. I fondly remember the many discussions we had there about everything post-rock and post-prog (at least what would be called these things).
Lee Harris, Talk Talk’s drummer, even consented to an interview and a chat. In those days, it was still rare for musicians to communicate so openly with fans on the internet.
In the summer of 1998, Brit David Gulvin posted an offer to all readers and participants of Within Without:
| Name: David Gulvin Website: Referred by: Just Surfed On In! From: UK Time: 1998-06-09 12:49:18 Comments: I just thought I’d communicate a word to you about ORDINARY PSYCHO, who with the very kind permission of Henrik who runs this site, have a free promo CD offer tagged to this site. Thanks to everyone who have replied so far, I’ve had well over 80 responses so keep them coming. Sorry for not always being able to reply directly to your e-mails, this is because my e-mail still runs on CCMAIL so each internet reply has to be set up individually. Soon I will set up an email mailing list to keep you updated. A website of their own is being planned now. I’d dearly appreciate all of you who have received CD’s to e-mail me your response, even if you don’t like OP (God forbid!) Piggybacking comparative artists on the web is part of the early promotion for OP so you guys with CD’s are some of the earliest fans. I suggest you hang on to them, and tell your friends now, so that they believe you in a few years time when you say, “I was into OP years ago, when they first started on the Talk Talk Web!” Any suggestions like the one about Roger Waters most welcome. Thanks again to all TT fans supporting OP. |
I was still unmarried and living in Montana. I sent Gulvin my address, not expecting much. Happily (still a great feeling), a package arrived in the mail. He’d sent me a copy of his EP, “Ordinary Psycho,” a mixing of three different parts of a forthcoming album: Private Island; Excerpts; and Love By Sin.
I tried to follow the band’s progress, but they never made much of a splash in America, and I lost track of them. Over the last several years, I’ve tried to find out what happened. It appears from what little I can find online that they made one album and disappeared.
This EP, which seemed so unexpected in 1998, has been a little treasure of mine for fifteen years. I’m sorry that Gulvin seems to have gone underground, as so much of the 20 minutes I’ve had the privilege of hearing is quite stunning. It would fit rather nicely (and, I guess, does) in the larger world of third wave prog.
So, David, if you’re out there, please know that you’ve made one soul a very happy one for a decade and a half. And, all simply a gift that arrived unexpectedly one day at the foot of Mount Helena.
Thank you.
Progarchy 