This burly, bearded Danish singer-songwriter has more than a passing resemblance to Vic Reeves although, thankfully, he doesn't sound like one of those club singers Reeves imitates with such deadly accuracy.
There is, however, an unusual theatrical timbre to his voice that is part melodrama and part comedy.
Not only is his voice odd, but he also has a fairly bonkers take on the English language. His choice of words is eccentric and his heavy accent means many vowels are mangled over the course of the 12 twelve tracks.
According to i-tunes, this is 'Easy Listening', but I reckon Baroque Blues would be more on the mark (if such a genre exists!).
If John Cale were Scandanavian he might sound a bit like this.
The songs range from the flowery : "the angels have been singing since the day you first appeared" (Advise You To Remember); to the sinister : "I will do what I have to do to make you mine" (Daily Operation).
He imagines having Eight Arms To Hold You and emotions are likened to Bubbles Of Hysteria.
Bellens was born in 1979 in Nakskov, a harbour town in Southern Denmark. He has apparently collaborated with a "constellation of Danish musicians"; released two albums as part of a duo project, menacingly named Murder; and a further four as leader of the band I Got You On Tape.
The Daisy Age is his debut solo album for a Copenhagen based label whose mission statement is "to rebalance the relationship between aesthetic merit and commercial viability, with a pronounced emphasis on the former".
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The record took 10 months to record and involves more that 20 musicians.
Heart Of Africa is the opening track where you find Bellens stranded "in the middle of the river, floating like an aeroplane". It's hard to say if he is deliberately trying to be obtuse or if the words just come out that way.
On Tricks Of The Trade you are confronted with the odd chorus "fish come from the river, dogs bark at the moon, vampires belong in the shade". On the final track, End Of The Needle, the fishes have progressed to "swimming inside a teardrop.
I'd be stumped to say what these songs were about but, if pushed, I'd class them as deranged songs of love and longing.
The cover photo shows a man slumped in bed in a dimly lit room; perhaps this is meant to suggest that the songs are the stuff of dreams (or nightmares).
The album leaves me bemused; I wouldn't say I hate it, but what makes it hard to love is that I am never totally sure if this is a work of profound poetry or the ravings of a lunatic.
Jacob Bellens' website
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