Of course, we shouldn't be surprised by how good this is. After all, in Mick Harvey, Barry Adamson, Blixa Bargeld, Martyn P.Casey and The Dirty Three's Warren Ellis, Nick Cave's ultra-suave henchmen The Bad Seeds have demonstrated just how much flair they possess even when operating on their own.
THE VANITY SET, then, allows erstwhile Bad Seed percussionist and tallest man in rock Jim Sclavunos to leap into the spotlight centre stage and - hot damn! - he's magnificent! And so are his colourful, erudite and powerful cohorts making up this unlikely, but brilliant septet who gleefully encourage the likes of violin, theremin and tuba to co-habit with the more standard rock'n'roll instruments to truly jaw-dropping effect.
This writer missed out on the band's eponymously-titled debut album, but no matter: this is a terrific way in, as "Little Stabs Of Happiness" positively seethes with ideas and drama, though possibly marginally less murderous intent than Mr.Cave himself.
Admittedly, it's not a million sonic miles away from territory previously mapped out by the Bad Seeds and sympathetic fellow travellers like Gallon Drunk in places, and indeed the fantastic opener "The Big Bang" might wrongfoot you into thinking that The Vanity Set may not dare to deviate from the patent too much.
Well, then you'd be wrong, worm, for "Little Stabs Of Happiness" is a multi-hued burlesque all of its' own making, not least when you get to the run of tracks inhabiting the album's central section. I mean, I can't even see the versatile Bad Seeds opening a tune with a tuba riff, joined by acoustic guitar and wonky organ ("I Started A Joke"), or kicking into the low-riding, afterhours jazz of "Imp Of The Perverse", although the grandiosity of the deranged, violin'n'piano waltz that is "Some Little Bird" or the towering "No Regrets" will be a feast for those of you who've previously revelled in things like "The Carny."
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Virtually everything grips the imagination. Sclavunos weaves fascinating narrative spells throughout, whether he's stirring it up via the Eastern-scaled funk of "Little Demons" or coming over all Brechtian on the sparser "She Came Out Of Nowhere". His vivid lyrical input never fails and I've far too many favourite images to go into here, though two unforgettable ones are the Peter Perrett-style "bang my head against the wall to hear the ring of truth" ("Little Stabs Of Happiness") and "She came out of thin air and her head was a gorgeous, enigmatic collage" ("She Came Out Of Nowhere") which would make Scott Walker smile. Equally enigmatically, naturally.
Aided and abetted by wonderfully evocative musicianship, Jim Sclavunos has put together a superbly exotic band of (sharply-attired) gypsies in The Vanity Set. "Little Stabs Of Happiness" are wounds you'll happily inflict on yourself for some time to come.
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