Tally Ho!

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Luke Vibert's first album release since hitching his Wagon Christ monicker to Virgin reveals no evidence of his unique creativity waning. A record which is essentially the 1998 incarnation of smart pop music, "Tally Ho!" is immediately accessible, yet extraordinarily deep. Each listen seems to reveal new textures and rhythms surfacing in the mix, and the beautifully-crafted production has a pristine quality, an exuberantly bright bounciness, which isn't half bad for one of the notorious 'bedroom musician/producers' of old London town. Whilst his contemporaries Paradinas, James, and Jenkinson are often defiantly 'out there', Vibert seems to have a desire to take Wagon Christ to everyone, which is an honourable intention. He's perfectly capable of the dark intensity of the aforementioned mob, as his downtempo (as Vibert) and drum 'n' bass (as Plug) releases indicate, and this album witnesses the sinister, harshly-compressed "Memory Towel" and icy, elliptical feel of an early-Warp release in "Musical Box". However, the quirky (dare I say, English?) sense of humour quickly, er, pricks any sense of gloomy self-importance, and there are tracks on here which are just plain hilarious (the single, "Lovely", and the most unlikely porno-self-promotion you ever heard in "Juicy Luke Vibert"). Most of the album skilfully resides between these two poles however, and it's clear that Vibert's done a very clever thing - made an album which is immediately seductive, yet smart enough to appeal to those who want to listen a little deeper (the opening and closing 'acts' are absolutely lovely). It's a shame that, here in the UK anyway, it's unlikely to break through as the incredibly limited radio market will find it difficult to justify playing music without vocals. Sad eh? Anyway, the Internet offers a little more freedom, and the Wagon Christ website features exclusive unreleased material alongside clips from the whole album. Let's hope Vibert can keep his different personae producing such fine music.