{"id":15415,"date":"2021-05-11T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T05:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=15415"},"modified":"2021-05-04T13:40:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T13:40:15","slug":"luke-haines-setting-the-dogs-on-the-post-punk-postman-cherry-red-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=15415","title":{"rendered":"Luke Haines – \u2018Setting The Dogs On The Post Punk Postman\u2019 (Cherry Red Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Like a note from a friend in exile or a stone in your shoe, depending on your tastes, Luke Haines is back with \u2018Setting The Dogs On The Post Punk Postman\u2019. If nothing else, certainly a contender for title of the year. Always prolific, he seems to be relishing the enforced solitude of late, after last year\u2019s \u2018Beat Poetry For Survivalists\u2019.<\/p>\n

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This is another strong set of songs, if anything even more satisfying. After only a few plays, I\u2019m enjoying replaying it. As ever, it is unlikely to win him new fans, but I doubt that he cares either way . Which is exactly as it should be for any artist. As Luke has said before, art itself has no actual value, so just satisfy yourself (I paraphrase). Whatever he\u2019s doing, it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

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You may already be familiar with \u2018Ex-Stasi Spy\u2019 and it\u2019s video. The album\/cd cover has brief explanations for each song, in an oblique way. \u201cA comedy caper in a Trabant set in 1983\u201d. It matters little, just enjoy some time in Luke\u2019s world. The raucous \u201cU-Boat, Baby\u201d follows. Is this really \u201cthe second part of a trilogy\u2026\u201d? Only Luke knows.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Never Going Back To Liverpool\u2019 tries to patch up some differences with the past. Complete with Beatley backing vocals, it makes me think of the only time I played a gig there. Didn\u2019t go well.<\/p>\n

\u2018When I Owned The Scarecrow\u2019 has a vibe from \u2018Rock And Roll Animals\u2019, with the now expected recorders. Or maybe it\u2019s a synth? No sign of \u2018recorders\u2019 on the notes. I think about these things too much.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Ivor On The Bus\u2019 is a lovely tribute to Mr Cutler, a previous neighbour of Luke\u2019s. Julian Barratt adds narration to \u2018Yes, Mr Pumpkin\u2019, appropriately, \u2018Two Japanese Freaks Talking About Nixon And Mao\u2019 possibly sounds exactly like you would hope. \u2018I Just Want To Be Buried\u2019 is a \u201csingular entendre poem\u201d, and as such is a righteous celebration of lust.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Andrea Dworkin\u2019s Knees\u2019 recalls a possibly accurate brief encounter with the writer, \u2018Landscape Gardening\u2019 is \u201ca surgical procedure disguised as a song\u201d, gently addictive, while the title track ends on a pleasingly sinister note. Essentially, no one else writes like Luke Haines. If you know, you know. And, in that case, you will buy this.<\/p>\n

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*Tuesdays, 2-4pm GMT, you can listen to Luke on Boogaloo Radio. It\u2019s righteous stuff.<\/p>\n

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Author: Martin Chamarette<\/p>\n

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