Clockwork
Orchestra – A Fish For A Heart (Soft Bodies Records)
CD/DL
Out Now
Electronic
DIY soloist releases his second album.
That difficult
second album? It would appear not. Dubliner, Paul Mangan (aka Clockwork Orchestra)
has obviously never heard the phrase as he breezes through twelve absolutely
bonkers tunes wearing his proverbial ‘madcap’.
Reversing
itself into the parking bay between Devo and They Might Be Giants and using the
elaborate and often complicated arrangement styles of Sparks, Mangan has
created an album that is instantly lovable and likable. If you’re one of those anti-synth people who
won’t even listen to the genre because ‘it’s all pre-programmed’ then you can
stop reading now, if you like fast paced original three minute epics then
Clockwork Orchestra is your thing!
The
Generator Girls opens the chaotic proceedings with a marvellous high-speed song
which will endear you instantly. It’s
poppy with the same post-punk attitude that the Mael brothers brought us and
echoes all those slightly whacky 80s artists like Landscape and Trio with a
modern twist using vintage keyboards.
Sounds intriguing? It is.
Does Puddle
Fishing borrow a violin riff from Jem’s 2004 album Finally Woken album?
Possibly. But, in the same way that Thoughtful
Eyes has a vocal arrangement not dissimilar to Ultravox’ All Stood Still, Paul
makes it sound his own.
There are also
great guitar riffs and piano interludes which are mingled with a slightly Stateside
accent which is occasionally treated to sound like a voice underwater. It’s a brave album, brave because it’s like
nothing else around at the moment and Mangan has to be applauded for doing
something so completely off the beaten track that it becomes a completely new
breed.
Lyrically,
it’s often daft and that is where a lot of the charm of A Fish For A Heart emanates. Clean Clothes Dirty Girl packs more effects
and sounds into it than Imelda Marcos hoarded shoes in her walk-in wardrobe and
The Man With The Golden Nose, well, do I really need to elaborate?
Maybe
sounding like a gimmick album that wears away after one listen it is far from
that and is infectious and thoroughly magical.
The Beginning Could Be The End brings back the piscean voice before once
more exploding into complete organised chaos referencing Daddy Long Legs and sitting
at the top of the stairs.
Paul Mangan
may well have a screw loose, but to be honest, it should never be tightened
up. A Fish For A Heart is a delightful
trip, often reminiscent, but always entertaining. Remember the first time you heard Whip It and
it stayed with you to this very day? I
rest my case.
8.5/10
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