"Vermin Mangle" is a song by English rock band

Cardiacs Cardiacs are an English rock band formed in Kingston upon Thames by Tim Smith (lead guitar and vocals) and his brother Jim (bass, backing vocals) in 1977 under the name Cardiac Arrest. The band's sound fused circus, baroque pop and medieval mu ...

from their unfinished album ''

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'', intended as the album's final track. The song was written by

Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to: Musicians *T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter *Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs *Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and produ ...

, who played it live during solo performances in 2000 and 2006. Following Smith's death, it was released as a free

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...

on 1 September 2020 through the band's

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page as the second single from the album, to mark his funeral that same day. Intended as a thank you to the group's fans, the song features the

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

instrumentation that drove much of the band's work. "Vermin Mangle" received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, with some commenting on the lyrics and sombre atmosphere. The full song was heard on bootlegs shared by Smith to keep testament of its progress, and the studio version first shared publicly on 30 July 2020 during

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tribute show.

History

only played "Vermin Mangle" live a handful of times during his rare forays into solo performance in 2000 and 2006. Playing Upstairs at the Garage for the ''

Organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

'' in 2000, Smith was nervous. He looked up at the ceiling and grinned, which Sean Worral attributed to an audience of rats "running back and forward above his head on some kind of skanky lattice thing suspended from the rafters", meaning he had premiered the song to actual

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. Smith shared bootlegs of the full song with ''Organ'' to keep testament of its progress. Cardiacs recorded a version of "Vermin Mangle" for their album ''

'' in 2008, completing it before Smith recorded vocals for the other tracks. It was supposed to be the final track on the album, which was left unfinished after Smith had a

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in 2008. The song was only remembered as "Vermin Mangle" because it was Smith's working title, and was known for years as "Dream Dress" before its release.

Release and promotion

In 2007, Cardiacs released "

Ditzy Scene "Ditzy Scene" is a song by English rock band Cardiacs. It was planned as the opening track and lead single from the band's unfinished sixth album, ''LSD''. It was released on Org Records, and was the band's last single to be released in frontman ...

", the lead single from ''LSD''. Whilst performing on

Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961 in Manchester) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of the Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Ta ...

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radio show, Smith confirmed the upcoming release of two singles from the album, scheduled for August and November 2008. After his heart attack and death in 2020, the album remained unfinished. The studio version of "Vermin Mangle" was first shared publicly on 30 July 2020 during

' Tim Smith tribute show on

. The song was officially released on 1 September 2020 to mark Smith's funeral which was held the same day. It was released by the band's record label, the Alphabet Business Concern, as a free

through their

page at midnight, intended as a thank you to the group's fans. It was their first single and release of new material since "Ditzy Scene" in 2007.

Critical reception

"Vermin Mangle" was met with positive reviews from

. Reviewing an unreleased version of the track on one of Tim's

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, Sean Kitching of ''

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'' called it "a beatuiful piece of music, initially serene and eventually epic", comparing it to "

In the Neighbourhood "In the Neighbourhood" is the 1994 debut single by the New Zealand hip hop duo Sisters Underground. The song peaked at #6 in the New Zealand singles charts and is now regarded as a landmark single both in the emerging South Auckland music scene ...

" by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

and the funeral hymn "

Morning Has Broken "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan". It is often ...

". Kitching noted that the song's opening lyrics — "Think of a way, then always go your own way / Uncustomary evenings, legendary mornings / Louder than drums and softer than a cloud that's been blown away" — were a good "closing summation on a unique life well-lived". Following its release, He commented that the song was "totally Tim Smith", bringing attention to "the myriad little sonic details that make up the vivid picture it conjures in the listener's mind". According to ''

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'''s Andrew Sacher, the song features the

and

instrumentation that "drove the band's most classic work". Sacher wrote that the song was "on the more somber, atmospheric side" but "unmistakably the work of Tim Smith". Chloe Ross of ''Backseat Mafia'' named the song a "poignant farewell". Dom Lawson in ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' included the song in his Essential Playlist.

Personnel

According to Eric Benac: *

vocals, keyboards, guitar * Jim Smith vocals, bass *

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vocals, guitar * Bob Leithdrums, vocals * Cathy Harabarasvocals, percussion *

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vocals, percussion * Suzanne Kirby and Claire vocals

References

{{Cardiacs 2020 songs Cardiacs songs Songs written by Tim Smith (Cardiacs) Songs released posthumously