“Oh Manchester, so much to answer for…”, never in the annuls of music history have truer words been spoken than those uttered by that maudlin Mancunian Morrissey. When it comes music, it is a city that punches well above its weight, birthing million sellers such as Oasis and 10cc, along with truly groundbreaking artists like Joy Division and Dub Sex. Salford-based experimental crew Patchwork Rattlebag definitely fall into the latter category and if you need proof look no further than their debut album Fragments 1. Featuring a dozen tracks which blur the lines between the audible and visual, the unobtrusive and immovable, Fragments 1 is an album that shimmers with a kind of cosmic beauty.
Listing to the album’s opening track ‘Shade Of My Mind’ is not unlike opening a door and stepping into another world, and one where the normal laws of physics don’t apply. Those of us raised and weaned on acts such as Ozric Tentacles and the aforementioned Dub Sex will find a spiritual home here, yet it is to Patchwork Rattlebag’s credit that they sound like no one but themselves. Allusions to other artists are mere signposts and pointers to their own dark star. ‘Shade Of My Mind’ is a song that alters the very fabric of time, it’s hypnotic nature compresses its six-and-three-quarter minutes into the blink of an eye. The song’s ethereal nature infuses the listener with a Novocaine buzz, and one that courses the bloodstream with a warm glow. That makes the following ‘Fragment 1’ all the more startling; the backward masking and musical collage that fuses this track together is stark and shocks the listener from their reverie in a most violent way. However, one thing quickly learnt when approaching a Patchwork Rattlebag album is to always expect the unexpected, and this is a record that constantly repositions the listener, not only with the four “fragments” that punctuate the album, but within the songs themselves with tracks such as ‘Hook, Line & Riser’ being wheels within wheels, cuts that are organic and in constant motion. While it is perfectly feasible to dip in and out of this album and enjoy these songs individually (Indeed, ‘Hook, Line & Riser’ made a great single), Fragments 1 is a long player that ebbs and flows like an old school album, taking the listener on a musical trip, and as such is best consumed whole to appreciate its push and pull.
Like the acidic, psychedelic visions found in David Lynch movies, ‘Simple Glance’ peels back the thin veneer that separates this world from the next and offers a frightening glimpse of what lies beyond. Fully embracing the power of music to make their songs three-dimensional, the penultimate ‘Vertigo Dreams’ is balanced precariously on a ledge, whilst ‘A Book On My Shelf’, danceable but discombobulating, makes the ideal song with which to bookend the album.
With many heritage bands hogging the headlines and a general shift towards nostalgia, it feels as if popular culture is in a state of inertia and there’s a void waiting to be filled. Patchwork Rattlebag are here to fill that space.
- Fragments 1 is released on 21st November 2025.
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Track List:
- State Of My Mind
- Fragment 1
- To Find A Place
- Hook, Line & Riser
- Fragment 2
- On My Own
- Abschattungen
- Fragment 3
- Simple Glance
- Fragment 4
- Vertigo Dreams
- A Book On My Shelf
