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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAnyone familiar with Luke Haines will know that his albums and projects are unpredictable. Typically, after Peter Buck bought one of Luke\u2019s paintings of Lou Reed, the two ended up working on the \u2018Beat Poetry For Survivalists\u2019 album. With tales of rocket science, magick and Bigfoot, it\u2019s an acquired taste. I loved it, and this time around, after last year\u2019s excellent \u2018Setting The Dogs On The Post Punk Postman\u2019, Haines and Buck reunite in a more solid, band format. Luke seems to mainly be playing acoustic, Buck does his thing, weaving through Luke\u2019s soundscapes, while Scott McCaughey plays bass and mellotron and Linda Pitmon is on drums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said, these are clearly Luke\u2019s songs and vision. Psychedelic paranoia abounds from the off, with \u2018The British Army On L.S.D\u2019, woozily stating \u201cwith my bare hands I\u2019ll chop down this tree\u201d. \u2018The Skies Are Full Of Insane Machines\u2019 builds the tension, while \u2018Sunstroke\u2019 lets you breathe, a slower acoustic track, with Luke\u2019s now expected recorders. \u2018Revolutions\u2019 gets groovy to thoughts of past empires, 45 rpms and bloody revolutions. It\u2019s catchier than it sounds! Although the album is more experimental overall than the previous two, Luke always brings enough tunes to sweeten the darker moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of which, \u2018Won\u2019t Get Out Of Bed\u2019 comes on like an alternative Burt Bacharach. You may already have heard it, along with \u2018Psychedelic Sitar Casual\u2019, which could be an Auteurs riff, unsurprisingly. I always look forward to a new Luke Haines album, you never know what you\u2019re going to get, but it\u2019s always good. Maybe I\u2019m overthinking, but it sounds a little less \u2018English\u2019 than \u2018Setting\u2026\u2019. I wonder if it was already written before they started playing together? Any chance of an interview, Luke? Let\u2019s hope so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quality doesn\u2019t drop, whether it\u2019s \u2018Subterranean Earth Stomp\u2019 with a wonky, glitter beat or \u2018The First Time I Met God\u2019, with acoustic and E-bow, with God dressed as a Teddy Boy. \u2018(Exit Space) All The Kids Are Super Bummed Out\u2019 starts like an alien choir, taking us on a far-out seven minute journey. The tablas are out for the hypnotic \u2018Iranian Embassy Siege\u2019, there\u2019s tales of \u2018Flying People\u2019 (excellent drumming), and the jazzy \u2018Diary Of A Crap Artist\u2019. \u2018Waiting For The UFOs\u2019 is a fitting place to end this trip, man. There is more, but I\u2019m off for another listen. It\u2019s an album that benefits from headphones, for your undivided attention. Luke Haines has done it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
*Tune into Boogaloo Radio, Fridays 12-2pm GMT for Luke Haines (Righteous In The Afternoon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n