If 'Sgt. Pepper...' cracked the egg of psychedelic pop earlier this year, 'Music From The Funhouse' by The Dodos smashes it on the floor, paints a moustache on the yolk, and invites you to dance to its surreal ride through the acid-drenched annals of time. The album opens with 'The Big Parade', a brassy, clattering number that marches out of the gate like a ragtag circus. It’s a dizzying overture, complete with luscious strings, marching band drums, and cryptic lyrics. It's as much a declaration of artistic intent as it is a giddy sonic prank. 'Funhouse Mirrors' slows things down but doesn’t let up on the weird, with the layered vocals and psychedelic sounds giving it an otherworldly feel. 'Crystalline Ballroom' is a shimmering ballad with fairy-tale lyrics, which ends wit a cacophony of sound effects, while 'Cotton Candy Tears' is actually quite a jaunty number, with some nice guitar-work. 'Up In The Air' is a buoyant track that filters early Kinks through a trapeze act, with a playful tempo and rich harmonies, giving it a sense of wonder that's impossible to resist. 'Did I Forget' harks back to their earlier work, and is a welcome break from the rampant psychedelia on offer so far, but we're soon back to the strangeness with 'The Clowns Scare Me', which is a deceptively catchy piece with paranoid lyrics and a great backwards guitar solo. The album closes with 'Hypercolour Kaleidoscope Cavalcade', which is six and half minutes of layered drones, backwards guitar loops, and heavily flanged vocals dripping with echo. 'Music From The Funhouse' has the makings of a cult classic, and with half of the twelve tracks hovering around the six-minute mark, it also gives the boys the chance to experiment, and play around with new sounds. It’s unafraid to be bizarre, and yet it’s filled with real melodic beauty and emotional depth. The Dodo's may be extinct in the mainstream, but in the funhouse of rock history, their music echoes on.
Track listing
01 The Big Parade
02 Funhouse Mirrors
03 I Bumped My Head
04 Time Flows So Slow
05 Why Wake Me?
06 Crystalline Ballroom
07 Walk Through The Midway
08 Cotton Candy Tears
09 Up In The Air
10 Did I Forget?
11 The Clowns Scare Me
12 Hypercolour Kaleidoscope Cavalcade
Hi PJ,
ReplyDeleteI bought a download of this album years ago. Unreleased at the time of its recording, the Cowsills made a copy from an acetate and added another 6 songs. I think it is a really great collection of songs but, unfortunately, the sound is marred by pops and cracks from the acetate.
Have you ever heard of the album?
Do you think you might be able to use modern AI software to isolate the pops as a separate track and then delete that track like the Beatles Now and Then recording?
If this request is too much, I understand - just thought I would ask.
BTW, I check your blog frequently as you post music that I have never heard of before and I enjoy it immensely, both the music and the history lessons!
The album is "Cocaine Drain plus 6".
ReplyDeleteThank you much!
ReplyDelete