Euros Childs "Chops" (Wichita 2006)

Gorkys front man in Gorkys style solo record shock.

Some of these songs are like nests of spun sugar, light, sweet, delicate and brittle, and others far more substantial and whilst I don’t have a sweet musical tooth I am partial to the heavier fare on offer. ‘Circus Time’ with just violin and piano has an elegiac quality, warmth and wholeness that is missing from some of the more whimsical pieces. He sits at the keyboard for ‘Surf Rage’ too and with his pure voice matching the notes that he picks out, there is something cleansing about it, something beyond the rational. Like a stirring hymn it connects directly with an emotional response, this one melancholy and protective. ‘First Time I Saw You’ illustrates his knack for constructing something compelling out of very little - the title providing a repetitive refrain accompanied by some deep electronic noise, a simple drum pattern and varying keyboard fills keeps the whole thing afloat for over eight minutes, the keyboard fluttering and flocking like birds, the vocal sweet becoming just another variable in the mix. Alongside these inspired patches are moments of grating whimsy. ‘Donkey Island’ is a comic moment that falls flat, ‘Slip Slip Away’ a children’s ditty that is little more than a rough sketch, ‘Costa Rita’ is not as good as the title suggests, just a throwaway piece of imitation tropicalia. A much better impersonation is ‘My Country Girl’ which is a pretty good stab at a country song. Infuriating in patches and with moments of flat out beauty makes for a perplexing listen.

Date review added:  Friday, February 17, 2006
Reviewer:  David Cowling
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Artist Website