Motionless Collaborators in the Faltering Quest,

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire received a favourable review from those in The Bellyaches newsroom but one and a half weeks later, I found myself addicted to it. Despite being addicted, I began to question if it was really that good. It was a strange situation, I had to play it but I didn’t think it was that great. I asked myself, “Is this better than Wolves (by My Latest Novel)? The critical point was reached and I took the Neon Bible from the CD player, I put it back in its case, I slipped the cardboard sleeve over the case and put it in the middle of one of the piles. Just to be on the safe side and avoid going back to it, I bought some new things.

As with any set of siblings, there is always a doubt over whether one can be as good as the other: can Gary be as good as Phil Neville and can Natasha be as good as Daniel Bedingfield? I didn’t think there would be much of a doubt over the quality of L’vov Goes to Emandee w/My Unicef Box by Jack Lewis & The Cutoffs given that Jack contributes so much to records that have Jeffrey’s name at the top. I’d like to create a new genre to describe this one; it’s called “ad hoc rock”. This album has a charming chaotic feel; Jack and his collaborators might have poured hours over the songs but they seem to have a spontaneity that other artists would kill for, on repeated listening, I still don’t know where each track will go, it is power pop. Lyrically, the songs are in much the same style as the Jack songs on previous Jeffrey & Jack Lewis album, some of the subjects are a little darker, like The Deer in the Woods, but the words seem to be direct observations (sometimes of imagined situations, no one has shot Neil Young yet, so The Day Neil Young Died might happen a bit differently) so there’s no messing about. The best song title on the album is The One the Drummer Never Liked (The Epic). It’s hard not to like this record.

I wasn’t going to bother about The Magic Position by Patrick Wolf but I’m glad that, by chance, I gave this a listen. I haven’t paid much attention to the lyrics, it’s another one of these records where I just marvel at the glorious compositions and arrangements of all the different instruments. Patrick has successfully blended the traditional instruments with modern electronic ones to produce something spectacular; moods joyous or dark. Marianne Faithfull appears on one song. The reviews on Amazon are much better than what I can say, I agree with all those that have awarded 5 stars.

It’s a pleasure to be able to listen to and write about A Surprising Return to Form by Art Pedro. It’s released by the Kingdom of Fife’s Fence Records and is possibly only available to buy during March as part of the Picket Fence series. Art Pedro is a man from Leicester who makes records it seems by patching random bits and beats together. With an element of humour and self-awareness, the tracks bounce from happy to sad, the experimentation is playful and the result is a delight. Art Pedro has recorded some videos to accompany some of the songs, they seem to give the songs a sort of resonance, in time hopefully, more videos will be uploaded.