...i saw this guy live w/full band in a bar across the street from where i work last year, and couldn't really make heads nor tails out of what exactly he was trying to do (although the fact that i don't remember whom he was opening for should be a backhanded compliment of sorts). On closer inspection, it is my esteemed supposition that, regardless of what he is TRYING to do, what he HAS DONE, as far as i'm concerned, is found a midground – (a midlands, if you will) – and, thusly, united – the section of the Venn diagram containing wry, quasi-smartass British songwriter types like Wreckless Eric, John Otway and the Jazz Butcher with the sector belonging to unaccompanied Billy Childish material and the like (may i note for your convenience that this album is a drumless work). Problem here is that, lacking the quirky songcraft of the former and the bloody-nosed immediacy of the latter, the guy achieves absolutely nothing superlative whatsoever (though he does score a few memorable lines like "we're all just animals...don't get cocky"). My favorite part is still the (likely unintentional) evoking of the Monkees first album in the instance when a refrain of "hey-hey-hey-hey!" in a song laden with 7th chords almost duplicates a similar passage in "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day." I'm sure the guy is thrilled to know that. BEST SONG: "This Is Not the Medway Sound" BEST SONG TITLE: "Hey x 4" FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: This stereophonic microgroove recording is playable on stereophonic and mono phonographs. It cannot become obsolete. It will continue to be a source of outstanding sound reproduction, providing the finest stereophonic performance from any phonograph. Well LA de fucking DA...
–norb (Smart Guy)