The Masonics

Centering on five towns situated in Kent, U.K., the Medway scene was born in the early '80s with a defiantly lo-fi take on '60s garage/beat, seasoned with a dash of classic rock & roll and lots of punk attitude. Arguably the scene's most famous son was the prolific <a href="spotify:artist:1kZTgpirZqES4wBVk08d2o">Billy Childish</a>, and alongside his <a href="spotify:artist:02jy0SdsT0bP4Hn0QkQTeG">Milkshakes</a>/<a href="spotify:artist:69C0pRNo5qCmYlKS9Lctfe">Headcoats</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4M2DWCrKQRiRJDie92zzcc">the Prisoners</a>, the Masonics remained one of the most enduring and popular bands spawned from the Medway. Not only can Mickey Hampshire (guitar/vocals) and <a href="spotify:artist:7LSPkEvlsBiuxfUNbmdRIa">Bruce Brand</a> (drums) boast service in a whole host of Medway bands (including the aforementioned <a href="spotify:artist:02jy0SdsT0bP4Hn0QkQTeG">Milkshakes</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:69C0pRNo5qCmYlKS9Lctfe">Headcoats</a>), bassist John Gibbs' CV is equally impressive and includes time in <a href="spotify:artist:54fu2ovnmyqUzGfnId7uW7">the Wildebeests</a> (another garage supergroup) and legendary Edinburgh timewarp beat merchants <a href="spotify:artist:7iFWroSYgi2VbgFGZvmU45">the Kaisers</a>. There's no disputing the fact that the Masonics are U.K. garage royalty.

Fronted by Hampshire, who like his old <a href="spotify:artist:02jy0SdsT0bP4Hn0QkQTeG">Milkshake</a> cohort <a href="spotify:artist:1kZTgpirZqES4wBVk08d2o">Billy Childish</a> is also a visual artist of some repute, the Masonics formed in 1991 and issued a steady stream of D.I.Y. beat releases over the ensuing years. Notable amongst their output was The Masonic Machine Turns You On (2002), produced by analog boffin and ex-Masonic Liam Watson at his Toerag Studio, and Outside Looking In (2005), which was also credited to regular collaborator and fellow Medway alumni <a href="spotify:artist:7Gc41EgYaHVRoG3YgmnsI6">Miss Ludella Black</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:0sNA2N3b17oq9JAgd0Rym0">the Delmonas</a>/<a href="spotify:artist:1MDoUyChsGrYbl9DeV9tif">Thee Headcoatees</a>). Released in 2011, In Your Night of Dreams and Other Foreboding Pleasures was issued by London retro label <a href="spotify:artist:5KXFrqqnCqTmr7uK5okhn4">Dirty Water</a> and showed no letup in the Masonics' primal garage assault, keeping the Medway spirit alive in the 2010s. ~ Matthew Garbutt, Rovi