Babybird - EX-MANIAC (Unison Music)

“I will kill you”, said the five year old, as he left his knives at the school gate. Babybird are back folks, with tales of loathing, spite and bitter disillusionment on life’s debris. For those of you whose only recollection of the band is hearing ‘that lovely song’, ‘You’re Gorgeous’, let me tell you that that particular song was about pornographic exploitation. If you really want to dig into the back catalogue, check out ‘Bad Old Man’, which has one of the most deranged set of lyrics ever to grace a pop song. Right here, a glance down the track list offers up a flavour of what to expect from the latest venture, with titles like ‘Failed Suicide Club’, ‘Bastard’ and ‘Black Flowers.’

Babybird aren’t so much a band as a man, Stephen Jones to be precise, who must tread that thin line between lunacy and art, from which geniuses are born. I’m not suggesting that he should receive such an accolade for one minute, but there is a depth of talent in his song writing that surely should have received greater critical mass than it has.

This then is the latest offering under the brand name. Jones has released a handful of solo projects and those who checked out 2003’s ALMOST CURED OF SADNESS will acknowledge the chasm of variance between this and his work with Babybird. To combine such unhinged words with sickly sweet pop tunes might, in itself, seem offensive. To dare try and weld such an awkward allegiance is creditworthy and to actually pull it off with such panache, quite admirable. From the antiwit of “If I die tomorrow, would you love me for the rest of my life?”, to the self-loathing of “You could date me, you could hate me, but it’s best if you don’t” and the crude sinister murk of “Found you by the roadside hanging from a burning tree”, here is a man who can wrestle with words with graceful gracelessness. Musically, there are some beautiful tunes, lots of Sha La La’s and the net result is an engaging experience. ALMOST CURED OF SADNESS was like sucking on a lemon, Babybird add the strawberry pancake.

So if you still want to hang onto the illusion of apparent charm created on ‘You’re Gorgeous’, don’t buy this - you are about to discover that those pretty new shoes are laced up with barbed wire! Ugly beautiful indeed!

4/5

www.myspace.com/officialbabybird

TC