The Fantastical Misadventures of Mr K
With an erudite use of melody and a studious take on song-writing, The Book Club release their second EP 'The Fantastical Misadventures of Mr K'.
Basslines weave in and out of involving drumbeats and we get a first taste of frontman Joe Carnall's menacing, learned drawl in opener 'Perspex Princess'. In truth, the title is a giveaway for the almost palpable contempt heard in his voice and mirrored in the cocky, entwining guitars. But it is an enjoyable sense of disdain, and when Carnall snarls "Is this the place where people come to die? If that's the case then won't you pass the knife", it is to be lapped up for its smart, callous delivery.
'Somebody's Daughter' displays the other side of their scholarly charm with a longing take on the woes of one girl on the wrong side of the tracks to a rich narrative and a spindly, building riff.
Call it cynical, call it neat observational wit but 'Irony Tower' can almost be termed as a sneering cover of Blur's 'Charmless Man' such is its scorn towards one man and his selective view of the world. Derision aside, the track is another example of how tight The Book Club are as the song spirals towards a crescendo of rifling guitar lines, dovetailed with Carnall's quickening vocals.
Final track 'Mr K' unveils the story behind the enigma with an underlying calypso beat, proving that The Book Club can do rhythm as well as ridicule.
The second chapter from The Book Club may be a short one but from the tight, cocky and oh so talented sounds of it, there'll certainly be more to come.