MOMUS – Hypnoprism – CD – AMPATCH009

“Hypnoprism is not filled with sexual controversy,” said PopMatters, “but well-crafted eclecticism where nothing seems out of place… These days, we need more artists taking chances, and Currie comes off here as the king of taking chances, in a nice, intriguingly creative package.” Mojo magazine called it “oddly bloodless electropop with hints of low-budget bossa nova. But Currie’s lyrics lift the proceedings onto a different level as he examines human flaws, foibles and mortality.” “Typically it’s the waspishly whispered words that entertain, rather than the occasionally desultory music,” said the reviewer at UnCut, adding: “Nick Currie’s musical career now looks like a long detour on his way to his destiny as discreetly subversive international Man Of Letters.” And Mark Fisher in The Wire said: “It’s a 21st century lounge music, which draws all manner of material into its studied insouciance: 1980s electronica (Sylvian & Sakamoto’s 1982 masterpiece “Bamboo Music” is referenced on “Bubble Music”); post-punk (the album includes a cover of Josef K’s “Adoration”); “Everything Stops For Tea”-style pre-war skit-pop (as used on “Is There Sex In Marriage?”). The highlight is “Datapanik”, a sardonically tender meditation on how a computer crash now means the loss of irretrievable memory objects.”

Darla