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Keith John
Adams: Sunshine Loft
A listen to Sunshine Loft, the new release from Keith John Adams, is a strange experience to say the least. The album was recorded in a loft with a minidisc and one microphone; but the sound quality is actually very clear, and were left with some pristine-sounding acoustic guitar, glockenspiel and even a singing saw. Oddly enough, the combination sounds very nice and professional musically, but the sparse production puts the spotlight on Keith's lyrics and singing. The British accent and the music does evoke a little bit of the Kinks, but Ray Davies liked to juxtapose his music with some biting lyrical sarcasm that Keith John Adams doesn't really attempt here. Instead we get lyrics that can only be described as very weird hence the Syd Barrett and Captain Beefheart comparisons. And Adams does remind me a bit of Barretts solo work, with the way that his music and storytelling seem to be on two parallel planes that rarely share common ground. What's the end result? I don't know. I guess it depends on whether or not you can appreciate weird music that doesn't really add up to the rock formula you're accustomed to. I kind of like the track Looking at Pictures: Looking at pictures of you when you're there in the room because it describes such a silly concept, but in the end, it's kind of like a ball of creativity just thrown in your face, and it makes you sort of wonder why you aren't playing catch with someone possessing a bit more lyrical coordination. The sort of avant-garde music here definitely has a place in my heart, but Adams poppy enthusiasm can sometimes provide a bit of a challenge still for my tastes. Imagine the Monkee's song "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and replace the lyrics with a refrain like "I'm doing a good impression of me, I'm getting the voice just right with my mannerisms...but now your wincing I'm not as convincing as I thought". Clever? Check. Creative? Check. Point?
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