(4AD)All the hallmarks of a cosmic psychedelic eccentric are stamped on the surface of Jake Webb’s career: hailing from Tame Impala’s birthplace,Perth, the former bedroom recorder possesses the knackered aesthetic of a 70s rock star, and his lyrics like curious muddle-headed meanderings and his music singed with a sonic quality that alludes to acid-casualty excess. However,the songs on Oh Inhuman Spectacle, his trio’s debut album, or support one foot rooted in reality – perhaps to its detriment. Its opening handful of tracks are robust – the doomish disco of Idée Fixe,the crepuscular melancholy of Shadowboxing, the Johnny Marr guitars that inhabit Rogues but soon the record wears out. Although it assimilates the past decade of alt-pop (Animal Collective, or Connan Mockasin,Ariel Pink) theres a wiry quality to Webb’s voice which recalls Turin Brakes’ Olly Knights. Much of the music here is less unearthly obscurity and more relatively straightforward indie, dressed up in a rainbow poncho.
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Source: theguardian.com