From the opening chords of Caleb Landry Jones' just released debut The Mother Stone, you know that you're not in the company of a run of the mill album with run of the mill ambitions. This is a tilt at the stars in a manner that's quite rare nowadays. Taking it's lead from Beatles Psychedelia, Hunky Dory, Vaudeville, Tom Waits, Weimar Republic cabaret, and the most starcrossed records of the early Seventies. It's far out too say the least.
If the reference points listed above will give you some idea of where this record is coming from, of course it's best if you just listen to it yourself to get the whole picture. Staggering, seven minute opener Flag Day / The Mother Stone should do that for you more than adequately.
But the record keeps its pace up from here with remarkable verve and energy. Every moment in here is crushed with the full on hysteria of the climaxes of A Day in The Life and Life On Mars. It's full on mass hysteria and it never lets up. Not even for a second.
While it's fairly clear what has inspired all this, that doesn't make the ride any less enjoyable. It's the kind of record that gives pretension a good name. It has absolutely no sense of restraint and performs its turns with a glorious ship going down abandon.As bombastic and overblown as any record you could possibly want to hear, but no less recommended for that.
I was almost exhausted after two tracks, then realised that I still had thirteen more to go. So if The Mother Stone will demand a fair measure of endurance from its listener, it more than repays the effort required through the unflaggable stamina of its own. In many ways one of the most remarkable records I've heard thus far this year its surely destined for my end of year lists.
In essence this is a Glam record (apart from its steady supply of Beatles),in terms of its DNA. Think Bowie mostly, think Bolan, Mott, Cockney Rebel early Queen. Also think Jobriath, Bowie's doomed American equivalent, Landry Jones hails from Garland, Texas, so perhaps this is the comparison that fits best. He's also a Hollywood actor with plenty of great work under his belt, (No Country For Old Men, Get Out, Three Billboards) and there's plenty of overblown thespian bravura at play here. But the record is imbued with deep knowledge and deep love for the traditions it draws on. The guys CV is frankly irrelevant. It's just a damned good record.
I'm currently still only halfway through the album but it's clear that it's one for me to return to and get to know more intimately. Coming on like the soundtrack for the sequel to Hedwig & the Angry Inch, The Mother Stone is excess all areas. Massive self indulgence, likely to give you a huge tummy ache like overdosing on trifle, but a great achievement nevertheless.
No comments:
Post a Comment