Audiopile Review: Coming in right behind their recent archival live release, Lyve: In Concerte, The Strapping Fieldhands’ Gobs On The Midway singles comp finally gets a first-time vinyl reissue, which collects their initial smattering of 7”s largely issued on their legendary hometown label, Siltbreeze. While Lyve was a revelatory view into the group’s raucous and unhinged live side, especially for those of who us hindered by geography or age, Gobs chronicles the earliest days when they funnelled a skewed take on British psych-pop & folk through a rustic and lo-fi Americana lens. Led by Bob Malloy’s faux-British accent and oddball storytelling, the group see-saw between cracked folk, charmingly shambolic garage and woozy psych, their traditional rock setup augmented by cello, violin and accordion. Gobs is as essential a document of the US lo-fi-psych rock sound as GBV’s Propeller, Red Krayola’s debut or Royal Trux’s Twin infinitives.

A first-time on vinyl reissue of the band’s early singles (1991 – 1995) collected together on one album, originally released as a CD by Siltbreeze in 1996. Remastered by Aussie knobs legend Mikey Young with a new fuller sound. The record is pressed on 180gm choice vinyl and features lyrics and photos of the singles on the inner sleeve. “Gobs on the Midway collects some of the earliest small-format output of Philadelphia’s mighty Strapping Fieldhands, and this first ever vinyl edition serves as both the single best place for a novice to dive in or a handy device for old fans with either too little patience for endless side-flipping or a lack of operational cd player. You can track the band’s evolution in chronological order, from their beginnings as a duo crafting creaky acoustic Appalachian Gothic to the double-drumming, boozily romantic swirling psych pop monster they became. Each and every song is a glorious jumble of the haphazard and the innovative, bound by dazed melodies and the knowledge that nobody else could possibly sound like them. Includes printed inner with Bob Malloy’s lyrical magic for all to behold.”—Max Milgram