THE BOB LAZARUS CHRONICLES PT. 1: FOODSTOOL RESURRECTION

All one really needs to know about Matt Deacon, is that he describes himself as a "purveyor of tritonal wankery" while he also has a somewhat unhealthy fascination with footstools and coffee cups (for example, the cover of Baritonia is the stain left by the coffee cup on Self Loathing Joe). This album title is of course a homage to 2014's excellent Ghost of Foodstool, and finds Matt pursuing a musical course which is both related to, and quite different, from what he has previously been doing. Not only are many of the pieces on this 11-track set quite short (total length is less than 15 minutes), but this is a totally solo affair. While bassist Mike Fudakowski had had significant time off for good behaviour, it is unusual for Matt to release music without the involvement of drummer Chris Jago, who has been a key member over the years.

Matt is primarily recognised as a guitarist, and is one of a select few of New Zealand musicians to have been recognised by the larger prog community and be signed to an UK label, yet here there is not so much of a concentration on that instrument but instead there are far more keyboards. Historically much of their music has reminded me of Cardiacs, as Matt has obviously been influenced by them, but here he is stretching in different directions, and for a release which is so short, with plenty of numbers less than a minute, he really is pushing himself into different areas. He also recognises that, which is why this release is indicated as something of a spin-off as opposed to his normal repertoire. However, there are also enough similarities that those who come across this will investigate his earlier works to understand something of what The Bob Lazar Story is all about. There may be jokey release titles, along with his weird fascinations, but underlying it all is a musician who is creating prog which is somehow both easy to listen to (preferably on headphones) yet is also pushing boundaries with no desire whatsoever to conform to expectations of either the prog field or whatever is happening musically here in Aotearoa.

It has been four years since the last album, Vanquisher, and let us hope that this EP is a portent of more music to come, as this multi-instrumentalist continues to delight as he follows his own path, and long may he continue to do so. Inspired by the likes of Allan Holdsworth in his noodlings, here he has brought the synths far more to the fore to create an EP which is both immediate and compelling.