Stuart Moxham and Louis Phillipe - The Devil Laughs - Tiny Global - July 2020 - LP/CD/DL
The names Moxham and Phillipe might be familiar to aficionados of early-to-mid '80s soulful indie-pop, peddled by labels such as Les Disques du Crepuscule, Sarah, Cherry Red and Rough Trade - indeed Stuart Moxham carved out a respectable notch on indiedom's bedpost by founding Young Marble Giants and his own solo project The Gist (see below), while crooner and French chef Louis Phillipe issued numerous solo singles and albums on boutique imprint El Records and a hard-to-find harmony-drenched mini-album as The Arcadians. If you enjoyed any of these releases, you'll devour this summery opus greedily.
Recorded a few years ago, The Devil Laughs is acoustically-driven but not twee or bedsit sadface, rather a somewhat joyous and chilled affair with some beautiful arrangements that tug at the heartstrings and moisten the eyeballs. There's some pure craftsmanship here - given the current viral circumstances, opener Tidy Away has an ironic lyric, "Tidy away on a lazy old day when you should be out working for more.." while Love Hangover and the woozy Fighting to Lose are as gloriously languid as anything in either artist's catalogue. Deft little piano passages and intricate guitar motifs govern the whole escapist listening experience, making it a rare pleasure in these hard times. Well worth picking up. 9/10
The Gist - Interior Windows - Tiny Global - July 2020 - LP/CD/DL
Aside from Young Marble Giants, Stuart Moxham's other project The Gist burned out just as quickly as its predecessor. Just the one album Embrace The Herd was issued on Rough Trade with barely half the tracklist featuring Moxham's voice before the label unceremoniously jettisoned the idea and stuck with The Smiths. Interior Windows carries on where offcuts set Holding Pattern left off. Again there's the same minimalism often associated with his YMG work with Alison Statton - check the fidgety The Landmark and oddball Afrique-beat of Stones and Sunlight #2 and You Were The One.
As well as numerous curios and outtakes, there's the debut RT single This Is Love and its flip Yanks, as well as dubby instrumental Grass Is Greener from the NME cassette C81. 7/10
Recorded a few years ago, The Devil Laughs is acoustically-driven but not twee or bedsit sadface, rather a somewhat joyous and chilled affair with some beautiful arrangements that tug at the heartstrings and moisten the eyeballs. There's some pure craftsmanship here - given the current viral circumstances, opener Tidy Away has an ironic lyric, "Tidy away on a lazy old day when you should be out working for more.." while Love Hangover and the woozy Fighting to Lose are as gloriously languid as anything in either artist's catalogue. Deft little piano passages and intricate guitar motifs govern the whole escapist listening experience, making it a rare pleasure in these hard times. Well worth picking up. 9/10
The Gist - Interior Windows - Tiny Global - July 2020 - LP/CD/DL
As well as numerous curios and outtakes, there's the debut RT single This Is Love and its flip Yanks, as well as dubby instrumental Grass Is Greener from the NME cassette C81. 7/10