Reviews of the new releases by Julian Cope, The Aliens, Abe Vigoda and Brian Wilson.
Julian Cope - Black Sheep 4/5
Another tour de force from that most well loved 'outsider' Julian Cope, and his band, Doggen, Holy McGrail, Acoustika and Michael O'Sullivan. Black Sheep is a triumph of an album, a camel through the eye of a needle, an uncompromised, truthful and inspirational work that also happens to be extremely enjoyable to listen to. If Cope wants to rally all the black sheep to stand up and be counted, to understand the precious gift of being different from the rest of the mindless flock, this might just be the music and poetry to do it. Uplifting, profound and necessary, this album is a mighty work of art.
Julian Cope on Eric's, Liverpool and why we need to rally every black sheep...
Julian Cope at the Whitworth Gallery speaking about William Blake
The Aliens - Luna 3/5
Definitely a whiff of Arnold Lane era Floyd in here, along with a taste of Nu-folk, Dark Circus and something gothically ethereal that preserves it all from being gimmicky. Ironically here's a track called Theramin that Brian Wislon might have enjoyed listening to before he made his new album. Oddly, I can't actually hear a theramin being played on it, but the tight vocal harmonies are something to behold, and reminiscent of the BBs at their finest. A richly textured and imaginative album, eclectic and impressive in scope and execution. Most enjoyable.
Abe Vigoda - Skeleton 3/5
Boisterous arty vibe, atonal vocals, scratchy guitar and noisy drums sort of a rackety sound. Named after a minor American film star, this band are experimental, in an LA sort of a way. Exuberant, slightly strange and unafraid to try out new ways of working with sound, on their MySpace page, they describe themselves as being Alternative/Tropical/Punk, which is probably about right. There's a feel of Sparks and Talking Heads in here, which is not a bad thing at all. Skeleton is not an easy album to get a handle on, but it is well worth persevering with, if you like pushing the boundaries of what you can appreciate a bit. These initially difficult albums often tend to be the ones that you end up enjoying the most, once the shock of the new wears off.
Brian Wilson - That Lucky Old Sun 1/5
Mr. Beach Boys has made an album that sounds like it could have been made by Potsy's band on Happy Days, crossed with someone's grand dad singing Christmas carols, and his old band playing on a slightly off-station radio somewhere in the background. You keep thinking you half recognise the songs, but they never quite coalesce into anything familiar. There's even a William Shatner style narrative track, thrown in for good measure. Utterly bizarre, and faintly disturbing with it. Harmless stuff, I'm sure, but it really begs the question 'Why Brian, why?