UNCUT MAGAZINE- news item- July05 Former ‘fifth Smith’ Craig Gannon has reunited with drummer Mike Joyce and bassist Andy Rourke in the backing group of Uncut’s favourite droll northern troubadour, Vinny Peculiar. It is the first time the trio have performed together since backing Morrissey on his 1989 solo singles “The Last Of The Famous International Playboys” and “Interesting Drug”. The ex-Smiths can be heard on Vinny’s new single, “Two Fat Lovers”, out now on Shadrack & Duxbury Records. MANCHESTER MUSIC Vinny Peculiar - Two Fat Lovers
(Shadrack & Duxbury) Vinny Peculiar is a regular on Manchester’s Music scene and has been plying his eloquent but oddly ironic musings for some time. As a highly respected musician, it’s good to hear another release from Peculiar, whose talent always relays the many coloured experiences he’s encountered. Since the impeccable “Suicide Dad” on Ugly Man Records a few years ago, this time Vinny is accompanied by The Smiths rhythm section of Rourke and Joyce (soon to be seen with "5th" Smith, Craig Gannon too). Whilst “Two Fat Lovers” is wonderfully irreverent and packed with tongue in cheek phrases, its also a pretty folk song, that jingles into a sprightly, bouncing melody. Vinny’s voice sometimes treads on a strange border somewhere between Ewan McCall, the spirit of Johnny Cash and at times some sort of Bowie infected vocal version of Violent Femmes. Best track has to be “Louise” – this definitely growls a little harder and allows the whole ensemble to get a little darker, rockier and perhaps yet allows the whole thing to get even more introspective. They say you can’t keep a good song down, but in this case three seem to have fallen out of the bag – should easily go straight to radio too.
"Vinny Peculiar has been
churning out nothern autobiographical
|
soundsxp single review **** Vinny Peculiar Two Fat Lovers Article written by Johnnie C Songwriting’s Angel of the Odd, Vinny Peculiar is like a celestial observer of the small, unseen dramas of daily life, dramas which can so quickly turn to crises. His sage approach is to comment but not to interfere, with a cautionary tone that says, ‘you know how this’ll turn out, don’t you?’ Two Fat Lovers is a tale of love in a time of mortgage-slavery, healthless food and endless reality TV, a tragicomic ode to gluttonous cushion-farters everywhere. The lilting guitar chords and nodding rhythm lend a suitably touching and melancholic soundtrack to the lovers’ oblivious lives, while Peculiar notes, "as the years pass them by, they get the nasty friction burn to the thigh.”. Curiously old-fashioned yet very much of our time, this is vintage Vinny 'VINNY PECULIAR' - Label: 'SHADRACK & DUXBURY (www.vinnypeculiar.com)'
Recorded at The Soundtrack Of Our Lives' Gothenburg studio, "Two Fat Lovers" is a sublime slice of unlikely social commentary from the Peculiar pen. Its' obese anti-heroes are observed through the minutiae of their lives with the skill of a Ray Davies or a Johnny Bramwell, and when Vinny sings "They work together right here in this building, they're not going anywhere/ and if they're happy they don't ever show it/ no gym club membership, no weightwatchers and no keep fit", you can almost touch the disdain. Musically, Rourke and Joyce are as inventive and reliable as ever, while Ben Knott's keyboards hover effectively in the background, giving the band yet another dimension into the bargain. If that wasn't enough, both the additional
tracks, "Dirty Old Man" and "Louise" go
on to prove how versatile the new VP line-up is. The first
is a sombre, voyeuristic and sordid affair with one eye pressed
to the pornographic keyhole. "Use a dab of vaseline when
they nail the cum shot," sings Vinny with just a hint
of Mick Jagger, while the final "like Steptoe" refrain
stays queasily with you for ages after. It's twisted and desolate
gear, but entirely memorable, as is the closing "Louise",
which just might be a malevolent love song of sorts. Its'
opening gambit is "Louise, Louise, we talk about the
wasting disease" and - with its' melody couched in Ben's
church-y keyboards and the hypnotic, mantra-style backing
track hinting at early Velvets, it's a surreal, but charismatic
thing of beauty, or at least something akin to it.
So, when three former Smiths’ members decided to use the venue as a rehearsal space for their new music venture, you’d think someone might have at least batted an eyelid. But, apparently not. Original Smiths’ drummer, Mike Joyce, and guitarist, Andy Rourke, have been regularly playing at the Salford club since joining Manchester-based singer and songwriter Vinny Peculiar as his band last year. Now with “fifth Smith”, guitarist Craig Gannon, joining the Vinny Peculiar ranks, it’s almost a Smiths’ reunion – but their rehearsals at the infamous lads’ club have gone largely unnoticed. Funding Mike tells me: “Last year, Andy and Vinny offered to try to get some funding for repairs to the club’s roof and when we went inside we saw this huge room in there and staff told us it was where The Hollies rehearsed. “We were like ‘wow’, it was a bit of a mystical story, so we fancied recreating it back as the club’s band room. “It’s absolutely brilliant. I’d never been inside of the club before last year. “We’ve been rehearsing there for a while and I thought people would have picked up on it and said ‘Blimey, three lads from The Smiths going to Salford Lads’ Club.’ “It’s probably the most famous photograph of the band and, to be in there now is just quite funny, really. And when Craig attended his first rehearsal, on joining the band earlier this year, history really did seem to repeat itself. “When Craig came to the first rehearsal, we had a jam of a Smiths song, I think it was Big Mouth,” Mike tells me. “We didn’t plan it, it just sort of happened, but we played it absolutely perfectly. The last time we played it was in the eighties, but it’s funny the way it sticks with you.” The new Vinny Peculiar single, Two Fat Lovers – the first with the new band line-up – is released this week, and a launch party is being held at The Bier Keller in Manchester on Friday, June 17.
|
