Julian Cope "Interpreter" (1996)

Interpreter

release date: Oct. 14, 1996

format: digital

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]

producer: Julian Cope

label: Echo - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Come from Another Planet, Baby" (4 / 5) - 2. "I've Got My TV & My Pills" - 3. "Planetary Sit-In" - 5. "Cheap New-Age Fix" - 7. "Arthur Drugstore" - 9. "Re-Directed Male" - 12. "Dust"

12th studio album (some file it as his 13th and probably include his collaboration album Rite) by Julian Cope is like its predecessor 20 Mothers (Aug. 1995) released on Echo, as his final on another company after which he should only release his music via his own labels. Alledgedly, Cope had rejected to perform in the US, which made Echo cancel their work with Cope. The incident was perhaps the last straw, which made Cope turn his back on the established music industry and from hereon take full control of everything he would do. The album follows more or less the same musical paths as his '95 album, albeit as a stylistically narrower release, where the compositions are Cope's own neo-psychedelic mix of glam rock, beat, folk rock, space rock, and pop. Thematically, it varies between the cosmic, about space travel, and the more down-to-earth stories, but especially strong political positions are noteworthy, which take their starting point from Cope's commitment as an environmental campaigner. There has also been room for his 'Neolithic hobby', although it's only reflected in a poster and the album front cover.

Musically, this appears quite complex with a certain grandiosity, but still with a strict simplicity in the harmonies, as an echo of 70's nostalgia.

The album was not commercially successful, briefly peaking at number #39 on the UK albums chart, and with two singles - tracks #1 and #3 both peaking at number #34 on the singles chart.

Personally, I think there's too much room for distorted guitars, heavy rock attitude, orchestral arrangements, and a repetition of naïve choruses, but still: it's probably part of his fascination of space rock. On the whole, there is a lot of recycling without much originality and at times I find myself wondering if he had either Lou Reed, David Bowie, Tom Verlaine, Scott Walker, or Neil Young on his mind when he wrote and recorded individual tracks. However, it's not only in the somewhat more distant music history that he finds his inspiration. At times he takes completely different paths when incorporating new styles with electronic or a synth-pop touch - and wherever he moves, Cope's strength is to write songs and to speak his mind, even if the messages occasionally drown a little in pompous and odd mixtures of styles. And you really have to give it to him: despite pulling all kinds of stuff from his musical shelves, there's still a remnant of presence and strong universal musical skill at stake - a Copesque charm and completeness, which manages to elevate the album to anything but copycat and mediocrity.

The album was Cope's final on Echo and all of his subsequent music has been self-released either through his own label Head Heritage or through his internet site, carrying the same name, and where he has commented on this and that up until Mar. 2014 when he made his final post. However, he has kept releasing and issuing new albums via Head Heritage since.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Kele "The Waves Pt. 1" (2021)

The Waves Pt. 1

release date: May 28, 2021

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]

producer: Kele Okereke

label: Kola Records / !K7 - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Message From the Spirit World" - 4. "How to Beat the Lie Detector" - 6. "Nineveh" - 8. "The Patriots" - 9. "Intention" - 10. "Smalltown Boy" - 11. "From a Place of Love" - 12. "The Heart of the Wave"

5th studio album by Kele (aka Kele Okereke, whose full name is Kelechukwu Rowland Okereke) following 2042 (Nov. 2019). Unlike most of his releases, Kele himself is credited as producer on this, as was also the case on his second album out Trick (Oct. 2014).

Unsurprisingly, the album comes with COVID-19 as a theme and as a starting point for the creation of an album, which offers 13 cuts and a total playing length of just under 50 minutes. Nor is it any surprise that Kele presents us with new styles and a mix of all possible inspirations. It's a near natural habit of his that the basic tone of any new album is from a new perspective - much in the same manner as we've come to understand the soundscape in Bloc Party. On this new release, there is less, or practically no room for alt. dance, funk, or disco. Instead, the album is somewhat subdued without approaching a bare folk rock and singer / songwriter orientation, as the one he cultivated on Fatherland (Oct. 2017). It's a type of quiet indie pop and alt. folk with the narrative at the center of the compositions. Where 2042 presented us with a series of tales about future English society, The Waves Pt. 1 are stories about Kele's present time. It's about being a parent, living in a relationship, and it's about small and big changes affecting us all.

Nationally, the album has been met by a somewhat lukewarm reception, but that's not something new for Kele personally, nor for his experiences concerning album releases with Bloc Party.

It's not exactly an album of a lot of ear bangers or melodic hooks, and it's generally a more quiet and introspective Kele as opposed to what you might have expected. It may appear as a demanding album, where the listener must take an active part in an attempt to create his/her own understanding. My first impression had me think of it as an off the target album, but it's not necessarily all bad because it makes demands on the listener. As the title indicates, one could expect The Waves Pt. 2.

Not recommended.

[ The Guardian 2 / 5, NME, Mojo 3 / 5, Clash, Narc Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band "Trout Mask Replica" (1982)

Trout Mask Replica

release date: Jun. 16, 1969

format: digital (28 x File, FLAC) (2021 remaster)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: Frank Zappa

label: Zappa Records / Bizarre Industries - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Frownland" - 2. "The Dust Blows Forward 'n the Dust Blows Back" - 4. "Ella Guru" - 6. "Moonlight on Vermont" - 7. "Pachuco Cadaver" - 12. "My Human Gets Me Blues" - 14. "Hair Pie: Bake 2" (instr.) - 16. "Well" - 17. "When Big Joan Sets Up" - 18. "Fallin' Ditch" - 21. "Orange Claw Hammer" - 22. "She's Too Much for My Mirror" - 25. "The Blimp (Mousetrapreplica)" - 28. "Veteran's Day Poppy"

3rd studio album by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (here: a sextet) follows 8 months after the album Strictly Personal (Oct. 1968). At the point of the release, I guess people thought of it as a band effort and generally thinking of Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band as a unit of sorts - like that of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and / or Frank Zappa and the Mothers - without comparison but with the idea of a band with a leader, and in this case with Don Van Vliet fronting His Magic Band. And to some extent that perception makes sense; however, when comparing The Magic Band over the years, it appears much more of a one-man project with shifting collaborators - of sorts. Yes, a few of these reappear over many albums but already here, only drummer & percussionist John French plays on all three albums up until this point. Guitarist John Cotton (here credited as 'Antennae Jimmy Semens') was included in the band on the predecessor but this is the first with guitarist Bill Harkleroad (credited as 'Zoot Horn Rollo'), bassist Mark Boston (credited as 'Rockette Morton'), and bass clarinet player Victor Hayden (credited as 'The Mascara Snake'). The album was released as a double vinyl album on Straight Records and with Frank Zappa as sound engineer and producer. Much has been said about this specific album. There are testimonies indicating that much of the recordings were taped live in the studio, or with the band playing instruments in one room and with Don Van Vliet contributing with vocals in another room. And then there's the story of how an untrained Van Vliet composed and played the songs on a piano after which John French transcribed Vliet's instrumental pieces into musical notations for individual instrumentalists to play as they appeared. Other ideas were used as creative ideas such as having the individual band members sit in isolated rooms playing their part while they couldn't hear the others - same approach was used for recording Vliet's vocal, which resulted in out-of-sync passages that were used as they were recorded.

I first came across this album in the early 80s at the local library. I was immediately attracted by the front cover, which I somehow found appealing. I took the album home and understood absolutely nothing of it and thought of it as unappealing chaotic noise. Over the years, I have come across this album at various stages of my life, and each time, I have discovered something new about it, found out that little bit more - and found it increasingly more fascinating. Needless say, the album is longtime a musical treasure and the good old Captain Beefheart has become an icon.

The album wasn't a big contemporary success - hardly any of Captain Beefheart albums experienced major commercial success, although, this one did reach number #21 in the UK. In retrospect however, none of his albums have been rejected as musical failures, which I guess has to do with Van Vliet's mission as an artists: to create music free of conventions [this is not a statement by Van Vliet but my assessment]. There's no doubt that Van Vliet was inspired by early American music and he is nonetheless regarded as one the most genuine original blues rock vocalists. As a composer, he was quite unconventional and an untamed figure. He was always motivated by ideas of creativeness and has always found is music labelled as avant-garde.

Trout Mask Replica is a... wonderous one-of-a-kind release. It's an extensive listen with around 80 mins. playing time. Some regard it as a stunning masterpiece, others see it as more of a non-sensical piece of formative artistic matter. The latter group of people, I find, often reject the album instantly, or quite early. Regardless, how people experience the album, there's no doubt that artists have and will continue to be inspired by its ideas and its output, which in essence comes from an unrestricted form. The album consists of 28 fragments of music - some tracks may sound alike and yet they all give you a taste of patternless music, paradoxically, with obvious traits of patterns. An overwhelming thing about it is that it was produced in 1969 and still sounds as something quite new. And did I mention, it's experimental? Actually, it's quite experimental and could be a bit of overwhelming to listen to in one long take. I'm still in doubt about how to regard it entirely - I guess, I might never will - it's not entirely a pleasant listen, but it surely has its moments. Pieces and fragments are both funny and absolutely strong. I'm thinking 4 out 5 and understand critics who see it as 5 / 5, and then I land on 3,5 / 5 because of its musical 'qualities'... though, what is quality when speaking of music? And this is the kind of questions you may have to ask yourself when listening to this, which basically proves its worth. I really enjoy it but for various reasons and at various times.

Definitely recommended.

[ 👉allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 5 / 5, Pitchfork 10 / 10 stars ]

Julian Cope "20 Mothers" (1995)

20 Mothers

release date: Aug. 28, 1995

format: cd (ECHCD 5)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: Julian Cope

label: Echo - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Wheelbarrow Man" (live) - 2. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" - 3. "Try Try Try" (Top of the Pops performance) - 4. "Stone Circles 'n' You" - 10. "Adam & Eve Hit the Road" - 15. "Senile Get" - 16. "The Lonely Guy"

11th studio album by Julian Cope is like the one year old predecessor Autogeddon released on the Chrysalis-owned sublabel Echo. With the album, Cope returns to his 'habit' of releasing extensive albums - 20 Mothers is nearly 72 minutes long and is divided into four 'phases', as was also the case with Peggy Suicide (Apr. 1991). His new album is similar to his most recent concept albums without it' being absolutely obvious where the focus lies, because it's more of a unifying album for all of Cope's thematic interests: climate and environment, the condition of our planet, consumerism, cars, religion, prehistoric cultures, and then as a more recent theme of his: stories from one's own lived life about family relationships. In the same way that themes are diverse, the music aspect is even more varied than on most of his other albums. Yes, there is the usual neo-psychedelia and space-rock, and then you'll also find indie rock, funk, and tracks with a clear folk touch, but also elements taken from Europop, synth-pop and rock & roll - in other words, the range is w--i---d----e, and the seemingly conceptual title, supported by the cover featuring family members - wife Dorian and friends, all of whom are actually mothers (as mentioned in the inlay) - then the album basically covers everything, and in that way it comes across as a bit of an all sorts mix - on all levels.

20 Mothers is by no means a bad album, the best side to it being Cope's stories, but at the same time it's somewhat incoherent and occasionally odd to listen to in its entirety.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

 

back cover: 
Julian with his
two daughters

inside:
Julian with family and friends
(wife Dorian on Julian's right)

Marie Key "Marie Key" (2020)

Marie Key

release date: Oct. 23, 2020

format: digital (11 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Andreas Sommer

label: Temper Records - nationality: Demark

Track highlights: 1. "Min tabte ven" - 2. "True Love" - 3. "Tænker på os to" - 4. "Din bar" - 5. "Biler" - 6. "Venner" - 9. "Et kys er ik nok mer" (4 / 5) - 10. "Vi følger hinanden"

5th studio album by Marie Key following a little more than two years after Giganter (Jul. 2018) sees a welcome back to producer Andreas 'Maskinen' Sommer, who is credited as multi-instrumentalist also is credited as co-composer of six out of a total of eleven songs. The album also sees a few featuring guests, which include Tim Christensen on guitar (track #2), Christoffer Gregersen on vocals (track #6), and Simon Kvamm on vocals (track #9). The album has primarily been issued as a vinyl only album (also available as digital download) but not on cd format, and it's the first to be released on Key's own label, Temper Records.

As many releases from 2020 the album has been recorded and produced at a time of uncertainty - with reference to general lockdowns, and in that regard it may have been delayed as Key probably to be able to follow it up by a tour.

Marie Key is a way of showing a more stripped down view on an artist, who has taken the country by storm but also experienced a difficult time after her first two acclaimed albums, although Giganter was a fine album it just was't met by enthusism and great reviews. And that tendency may have hit this very album even harder as it hasn't been promoted strongly and basically appears to have near vanished from the public interest, which is more than strange. Yes, the song "True Love" was a minor national hit but the album failed to enter top 40 and seems to have come out only to be greatly ignored, which is really sad, because it is a fine album where Key once again reveals her gifts as a gifted contemporary songwriter of personal and inner conflicts with an obvious broad appeal always serving her songs with glimpses of hope, despair, and humour, but also with a purposeful sense for a wider target group. It's both simple narratives and modern poetry on a another level than pop without substance, and Key simple deserves more listeners but may have found the limitations in singing entirely in Danish when everyone's eyes and ears are on a globalised perfect world via Insta, Tik-Tok, and X.

Definitely recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk, Kulturen.nu 4 / 6, 💩Ekstra Bladet 3 / 6 stars ]