Signia Alpha
New album - Entropy
Album Release Date: 17 November 2023
Artist: Signia Alpha
Musical Formats: Vinyl LP, CD, Download
Label: Mutiny 2000 Records
Entropy is the new album by Signia Alpha, a group spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist Matt Webster, who provides drums, guitars and some vocals.
Guest musicians include:
Paul Gray (The Damned, Wingmen, Sensible Gray Cells, Eddie & The Hot Rods) adds his distinctive Rickenbacker bass guitar to all 10 tracks on the album.
Singer-songwriter Harris (Chaing, Grim, Nowt, Zed) co-writes and sings six songs.
Mathew Seamarks (Disciples of Spess), writer of 'This Song' as heard on The Stranglers 'Dark Matters' album, co-writes and sings 'Building Castles In Spain'.
Simon 'Nogsy' Nolan (SpyBand, Zed), original vocalist for early '80s anarcho punks Anti-System, co-writes and sings 'On Diego Garcia'.
Guitarist Wulf Ingham lends his psychedelic solos to a couple of tracks.
Jazz saxophonist Keith Jafrate and flautist Chris Walsh sprinkle their melodic flourishes over several songs.
"On Entropy all those elements that made the best of punk so vibrant and important are here by the hod-load." RnR
Review in Onyx Music Reviews
Review from Roots In October
Includes free fridge magnet! (while stocks last)
1. Such A Shame
This wall-of-sound Buzzcocks style pop-punk rocker contains a haunted and surprisingly effective interlude that sounds like the theme tune from some long-forgotten TV programme.
2. On Diego Garcia
A song about the island in the Indian Ocean whose inhabitants were forcibly expelled by the UK Government to make way for a military base. Tightly interwoven Brian James style guitars and layered vocals lend this impassioned track the intensity of a New Model Army song.
3. A New Dawn
Impressively atmospheric guitar-driven mid-paced number with an instantly catchy chorus line.
4. Hourglass
This song of passing and lost time is driven by a burning rhythmic urgency with pounding drums and hookline bass over shimmering keyboard arpeggios.
5. The Price Of Admission
There’s a slowing of pace for this reflective ballad with a breadth. depth and complexity that hints at Pink Floyd.
6. Feels Like Rain
Fluent flute opens this almost Beatles-ish song about the current cost of living crisis offset by a bouncy and almost cheerful rhythm. Towards the end, there’s a cool sax break just before the flute returns.
7. Building Castles In Spain
Simultaneously downbeat and upbeat, this thoughtful song has a subtly seductive listen-again appeal which should make it a fine candidate for release as a single from this album.
8. Waiting
A quirky mosaic of music to a song prefiguring the apocalypse as acoustic guitars are overtaken by loud guitars and drums before returning for a middle section where Paul Gray references one of his most famous basslines.
9. The Atmosphere
Here’s another winning number, a 7 minute look back on climate change from our future selves which conjures passing comparisons to Floyd (Pink, not Keith!).
10. Kaleidoscope Wheels
And, at less than 90 seconds, the album closes with its shortest track, an overlapping cut-up of voices and instruments that is exactly what its title suggests.
Produced and recorded by Matt Webster at Signia Alpha Studios, 2021-2023 Additional recording by Paul Gray, Harris, Simon Nolan,Wulf Ingham and Keith Jafrate Additional drums on Castles, Atmosphere and Kaleidoscope Wheels recorded by Tim Walker @ Voltage Studios
℗ & © 2023 Signia Alpha / Mutiny 2000 Records
All music written by Matt Webster
A New Dawn, The Price of Admission, Kaleidoscope Wheels: lyrics by: Matt Webster
Such A Shame, Hourglass, Atmosphere: lyrics by: Matt & Harris
Feels Like Rain, Waiting: lyrics by Harris
On Diego Garcia: lyrics by Simon Nolan
Building Castles In Spain: lyrics by Mathew Seamarks
© 2023 Copyright Control
‘a Damned good album!’
‘Paul Gray of The Damned’s distinctive bass lines feature prominently in this catchy, hook-driven, post-punk classic.
'Signia Alpha draws on a pool of talented from the Northern underground music ccene for this instant classic collaboration.
'Hypnotic beat, astute observation produce stand out tracks ‘Castles in Spain‘ penned and performed by Mathew ‘Stranglers’ Seamarks, and personal favourite pop-folk track ‘Feels like rain’ from class act Harris. Entropy is a commentary on the chaos which is life. In short, a damned good album!’
LS Arts Magazine