Listening diary 22nd April, 2022: Robert Wyatt - Shleep (canterbury/art rock, 1997)
A strange record from a strange man, but Wyatt has this odd ability to be totally compelling
with his strangeness, even when writing about sleep. I hear a lot of Richard Dawson in this,
and I have no doubts that a lot of his idiosyncrasies are influenced by Mr Wyatt,
particularly in the incorporation of atonal avant-folk in to otherwise straightforward
songs. There's nothing here that stands out to me as being exceptional, but it flows by
without making much noise and occasionally will bring out a section that really sounds
unlike anything else, particularly in the scene of prog rock greats making albums in the
90s. You could even call parts of this post-rock, with its minimalist intricacies calling to
mind Bark Psychosis and Talk Talk far more than the 70s prog greats. I don't think I'll ever
totally love a Wyatt album, but I'm glad he exists, because he's strange, and we need more
strange.
6.5 (5th listen)
Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog -
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