Tone Deaf Records
New - Moxham, Stuart & Louise Philippe - The Devil Laughs - LP
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Much has been written about Young Marble Giants’ perfect catalogue. Stuart Moxham’s next project, The Gist, chopped YMG’s minimalism into a new shapes. This Is Love, Public Girls and Fool For A Valentine maintained the geometric precision of YMG, but the album’s fragmented pieces were a step too far for many, though the strangest of them, Carnival Headache, was clearly as fine a song as any he’d written and Love At First Sight became a million-seller in France as covered by Etienne Daho. And now The Devil Laughs is a compelling addition to the canon of the modern songwriting. Stuart’s generally unadorned musical presentation does not hinder his appreciation for the skills of Louis Philippe, whose iconic arrangements across an array of Él label albums inspire fierce devotion from aficionados around the world. Nor does the unvarnished solidity of Stuart’s arrangements deter Louis from hearing possibilities for their presentation in styles which take inspiration from the perfection of 1960’s studio technology that led to the rise of Brian Wilson, Burt Bacharach, Bones Howe and Roy Halee. Tidy Away is Young Marble Giants redux, though the backing vocals hint at maturity which band didn’t live to see. Fighting To Lose would have been a worthy b-side to Bridge Over Troubled Water, and Louis fans will delight at Love Hangover and Sky Over Water, which display his style and production genius as succinctly as his own work. The Devil Laughs is as out of its time as Colossal Youth was - its subtle but immediate beauty, devoid of “rock”, is a recording best understood in the light of those obscure groundbreakers who inspired it - Smile-era Beach Boys, Tom Wilson’s work with Simon & Garfunkel, a dash of The Swingle Sisters and French chanson - along with hints of Young Marble Giants.