Music review: Paul Vickers, Nest Of Knickers

Vickers serves up another generous helping of crazy, rendering reference points redundant now that his own surreal world is becoming freakily familiar.

Paul Vickers

Nest Of Knickers

Simple Bounty (available online)

****

We are in the lap of Twonkey, and his bizarre imaginings of gothic icons (Lon Chaney), vegetable hybrids (Morph Rooms) and, of course, the Nest Of Knickers of the title.

There are characters of which Oliver Postgate might be proud, the inventor Botch Battersea for example, the creator of Jennifer’s Robot Arm.

There are tunes that might make LMFAO grin knowingly, such as the infuriatingly catchy Goat Girl and Sheep Woods, and banter which crackles with the invention and innuendo of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in their pomp.

It is absurdist and mischievous, constructing improbable scenarios involving Castrol GTX, and reaches back into the past to reclaim Vickers’ days as a John Peel favourite. That was with Dawn Of The Replicants, and the massively infectious Yabba Yabba makes you wonder why pop success evaded them. The tormented Magic Invisible Song may serve as a reminder why.

Little matter now, as Vickers is turning out magnificently warped albums on an annual basis. You can catch him performing during the Edinburgh Fringe (at The Hive at 3pm most days, until 26 August). Your Edinburgh experience will be all the richer and weirder for it.

Colin Somerville

Download this: Yabba Yabba, Jennifer’s Robot Arm