LIZARD

This is a difficult album to review, being a mixture of almost bland sweetness at times, combined with avante garde noodling. My view is the opposite of the usual critique of this work, I hear side one as being much the stronger of the two, with side two falling into shapeless self indulgence.

The album starts well with the impressive Cirkus, the sinister lyrics are well combined with dark instrumental passages between the verses. Indoor Games is much less memorable but Happy Family with each nursery rhyme lyrics and dark atmosphere is under rated. Side closer Lady of the Dancing Water is pleasant but unremarkable. All in all side one is a success, although not KC at the top of their game. Side two starts where side one tailed off, the blandly pleasant "Price Rupert Awakes" (any song which has Rupert has the name of the hero is always going to be skating on thin ice). Although insipid, this is the highlight of side two. This merges into a section called bolero. Any hope that this might be a dark and mysterious journey over an insistent rhythm a la "the devil's triangle" is quickly disappointed. A flute melody, the sort of thing which would appear as the theme tune to a safe Sunday night TV programme begins this, but it sound descends into dissonant jazz noodling with Tippett's harsh piano being the worst culprit. However any musical ideas are abandoned altogether in the forgettable "battle of glass tears" section, a massive 10 minutes long and devoid of melodic interest. One is grateful for the slight return of Cirkus at the end.