Today, Crotchety Man has followed the sign at the Burning Shed, and headed in the direction of Pymlico. We have agreed to meet there on 20th May to celebrate the release of that band’s seventh album, Supermassive. In the meantime, I have been mugging up on both the Pymlico band and the posh London district of Pimlico.

The origin of the Pimlico name is not known, but it has been linked with Ben Pimlico, the producer of a certain nut brown ale (by the Rev. Brewer, appropriately). Wikipedia has no doubt, though, that the district was designed by the master builder and town planner, Thomas Cubitt. He started work in 1825 and by 1877 Pimlico had become “genteel, sacred to professional men… not rich enough to luxuriate in Belgravia proper, but rich enough to live in private houses”. Nevertheless, it was good enough for those stalwarts of the British upper classes, Winston Churchill and Laurence Olivier. Of more relevance to a music blog, though, Pimlico residents have also included Paul Weller and the Small Faces (who, of course, recorded the Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake album).

If there is a connection between Pymlico and Pimlico, the Crotchety Academy researchers have been unable to find it. Spelled with a ‘y’ it is a Norwegian progressive rock band based in Oslo. The group was formed in 2009 as an outlet for the creative spirit of composer and drummer Arild Brøter. With the help of numerous guest musicians, he recorded three albums of his music over the next few years before distilling the ensemble down to a 7-piece core band for live performances. Three more albums followed, the latest being On This Day (2020), which has a somewhat different feel – a little more relaxed, a little more sophisticated – thanks in large part to a more prominent horn section.

Here’s a sampler of tracks from their most recent four albums:

At Crotchety Mansions, we are eagerly looking forward to another album that we are sure will be worthy of the Pymlico name and in tune with the sophisticated ambience of the Pimlico district of south-west London.