From the Top Drawer II - The Oroonies

In their early days, the very mention of the name of the Oroonies in polite company might have inspired a rolling of the eyes, maybe a nervous giggle or even a shrug of the shoulders. Amongst the burgeoning collective of bands who might perform at the odd squat party or festival, at the start they were the band that nobody took that seriously as a group to be reckoned with. They were the butt of obscure humour, the jokers in the pack, too 'out there' even for the hardcore psych-heads. Named after an utterance of invented language by jazz legend Slim Gaillard, and formed in Ireland until later relocation in England, they were pagan inspired Pan worshippers who took it to the edge of the cliffs of reality and invited you to jump into the void with them.

Early gigs could be shambolic and chaotic, but as time passed they became a serious force of weird nature to be reckoned with. Visually impressive, with masks often being worn, and their eerie folk melodies channelled through at times ferocious electric and acoustic instrumentation, they gradually drew an expanding audience who knew that was no other band around who were quite like them and were keen to celebrate the fact with ecstatic dancing and revelry.

Here's the Oroonies first cassette release from 1985.
It's called 'The Woods Are Alive With The Smell Of His Coming'.
Ripped from an original tape @320kbps, and split into two side-long tracks. Quite a lo-fi experience but an essential one.
Titles are -
Side One - Wild World/The Smell/Questions/Verging Outward/The Rocky Place
Side Two - Cloven Foot/Lord Of The Dance/Gruesome/Neither-Neither/Bees
(I'm not sure if Devo ever sued - listen and you'll hear what I mean...LOL)

Download HERE

Happily some video footage exists that shows them playing the title track live in the late 1980s at a Bacchanalian revel which entirely suited their music (thank you to the uploader). Invoke the Pan-ic.