If Eminem's lyrical acidity earned him the tag the 'hip hop Shakespeare' then JIM NOIR is king of the school yard taunt.
Penning the lyrics: 'If you step on my patch/I'll bring you down/ bring you down' and 'If you don't give my football back/I'll get my dad on you' may transport you back to days of grazed knees and bloody noses, yet any menace is carried away a la Bedknobs and Broomsticks amidst lusciously buoyant musical ramblings.
It's possible Jim Noir's a maverick Super Furry Animal or a sibling of Half Man Half Biscuit, whatever, wherever, whomever, he's ambled his way from his favourite picnic spot in the forest to give us an abundant offering of saccharine folk loveliness.
Album opener 'My Patch' plink-plonks its way with the menacing charm of a sober England fan whilst 'Tower of Love' is what the elevator music might be in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Drenched in Disney and with the cast of Alice in Wonderland threatening to spoil the party, 'Tower of Love' showcases the finest and quirkiest psychedelic pop you'll hear for a long time.
There's the sun kissed 'Eanie Meany' invoking thoughts of the Beach Boys, the subtle Casio appeal of 'In the Key of C' and the pastorally flute addled 'Turn your frown upside down'. Think the Super Furries without access to a synthesizer and you're half way there.
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'Tower of Love' will bring a smile to your face and with it, a sudden urge to go skipping through meadows. With gnomes. Eating sherbet. On the back of a giant turtle. He might not be away with the fairies but he's stolen just a little bit of pixie dust to play with and suffice to say, it's more than a liberal sprinkling. Amidst the kookiness there's an understated cerebral quality that sees him mix the lyrically concise with lavishly constructed music.
It's an album gleefully content in it's ingenuity that delights and daydreams in equal measure and leaves a satisfaction reminiscent of the sickly feeling you get after licking the cake mixture bowl clean. You know you shouldn't have done it but you feel peculiarly better off for it. Magical.
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