The sharpest mind in English music transforms 1970s children’s television shows into a glam- and psychedelic trip on “Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Bizzy”.
There is in Luke Haines a singular way of dissecting English culture: erudite, venomous, absurdly funny. Unearthed in the 1990s with the unforgettable The Auteurs, then heard with Black Box Recorder, Baader Meinhoff, solo or with Peter Buck, the songwriter continues here his exploration of British mythologies with a concept album devoted to the magic and the magicians of British children’s programmes from the 1960s and 1970s. The best ideas often come from a black hat.
Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Bizzy unfolds a spectral pop populated by televisions looping on outmoded shows, between domestic occultism and cathode folklore. Against a backdrop of rock and electric tension, TV’s On All the Time perfectly sums up this troubled fascination with an England raised by the screen, while The Standing Stones of ITV embarks on a mocking and hypnotic lullaby. Mama Cass simply signs the loveliest glam track of the year. After a tribute to The Omen 2, Spiritual Church dares a neo-folk ballad as beautiful as it is unsettling.
Brilliant stylist
Luke Haines stays true to his art of feigning detachment: instantly catchy melodies, dry humor, and eccentric elegance. As is often the case with him, nostalgia serves less to celebrate the past than to reveal its deep strangeness. Luke Haines remains what he has always been: a brilliant stylist, unable to play the heritage game without subtly sabotaging its backdrop.
Izzy Wizzy Let’s Get Bizzy (Cherry Red Records). Out on July 10.
