The 3 Clubmen EP: XTC’s Andy Partridge returns with vibey trio.

Few musicians ask insects to deliver one of their songs as a love gift, but Andy Partridge does just that on Green Green Grasshopper. A playful thing built on quirky electric guitar picking, the song also sees Partridge’s co-lead vocalist Jen Olive play the part of said beastie, singing, ‘You won’t can’t catch me’, then disappearing into the undergrowth.

Partridge, Jen Olive and Stu Rowe - aka The 3 Clubmen - share instrumental duties across these four imaginative pop-prog gems. They sound like they’re having tremendous fun on the cryptic, flute-imbued Aviatrix, while there’s something curiously sexy about off-kilter avant-pop opener Racecar, with its Beatles-circa-Getting Better guitars and a hint that some things in life are far more stimulating than motoring.

These songs were tracked over 13 years and only finished during the pandemic, but while some long- gestating projects can sound over- baked The 3 Clubmen is a perfectly- cooked mini feast. A credit claiming the EP was mixed by some mysterious folks named The Encyclopaedia Salesmen is likely a Partridge gag, but how wonderful to have him and his wry irreverence back.