MATCHING MOLE

This record contains very varied songs. There are Canterburian elements, but also krautrock, psychedelic, avant prog and fusion ones. Fortunately, Robert Wyatt only sings on the first tracks. The typical Canterburian organ, Fender Rhodes and vocals effects are often really good, like on the surprisingly jazzy & very good "Part of the Dance", where Wyatt does not sing! Wyatt's drums are very elaborated and varied. There are unfortunately some lengthy and irritating parts on the record, where nothing seems to unblock from a stagnant, minimalist and lethargic state.

The catchy piano on "O Caroline" is very good, but I don't think Wyatt's vocals have something to make a woman to like this pseudo-romantic song. "Instant Pussy" shows the extravagant side of Robert Wyatt on Canterburian lead vocals. Who can really be sure that on "Signed Curtain", "THIS IS THE FI-I-I-I-I-RST"? The dirty organ on "Instant Kitten" can be mistaken for Frippian guitar notes. The mellotron-flute could perfectly fit on an early Tangerine Dream album. "Dedicated to Hugh, but You Weren't Listening" starts really badly with a krautrock minimal intro; then some Zappa-esque improvisation-like reminds the listener that Wyatt is able to make difficult music: despite the dissonant textures, it sounds coherent and surprisingly elaborated. The krautrock improvisations continue on "Beer as in Braindeer", which may slightly remind "The Waiting Room" on The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. The impressive dramatic floating mellotron on "Immediate Curtain" sounds a bit like on the Edgar Froese's Epsilon In Malaysian Pale album.

Raing: 3.5 stars