Tremulous Monk

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A tiny record on a tiny label which probably vanished under the seventeen squintillion records that are released every five minutes, “Sparkle Like Your Shoes” didn’t even show up in any of the five hundred and twelve end-of-year-best charts that I spent my entire Christmas holidays ploughing through. It would be a shame if this delicate, gentle and extremely moving record were to get buried under such an avalanche, however, especially as it can proudly hold its head up against its soul brethren, the various folkateers and neo singer-songwriters who seem to have sprouted like magic mushrooms over the last couple of years.
Tremulous Monk (Thelonius’ shyer younger brother?) is actually one Chris Wilkinson who sits in his bedroom in York writing and recording heartbreaking tales, and probably listening to far too much Nick Drake, David Bowie, Alex Chilton, Lou Reed and goodness knows what else. All of these appear in some form in “Sparkle Like Your Shoes”, from the glam shuffle of “Dry Your Eyes” and “Are You Coming Out?” (both of which break into choruses which Noel Gallagher should be seriously thinking about stealing if he wants to salvage the forthcoming Oasis album), to the tootling psychedelic organ which weaves its way through “Sister Love Her” and “Drinking Holes”, to the standout track, “Trees”. More intimate than epic, the scarce three minutes of this haunting, wrecked piece of music have a slow motion guitar part which shows that Wilkinson too knows an important secret - the best Velvet Underground lp is the third one.