Baxter Dury's lethargic piano and string-laden brand of psychedelic drone could hardly be farther removed from the madcap, almost vaudevillian pub rock routine of his famous father, Blockheads leader Ian. Indeed, the full-on earnestness of the junior Dury's material all but proves a sense of humour isn't a hereditary trait after all. Baxter delivers most of his lyrics in a high and nasally spoken-word style, occasionally singing his hard to decipher words through one of those bad telephone connection filters. The playing is mellow and subdued throughout, which is pretty much a necessity as the feather-light vocals would suffer any contrary approach. Great music to fall asleep to, except for the fact listeners may be kept awake desperately trying to figure out just what the hell dude is on about.
(Rough Trade)Baxter Dury
Len Parrot's Memorial Lift
BY Chuck MolgatPublished Feb 1, 2003