My Little Cheap Dictaphone – The Tragic Tale Of A Genius
Loosely based on the life of Beach Boy Brian Wilson, Belgian collective MLCD's third release "The Tragic Tale Of A Genius" is an ambitious concept album that tells the story of a tortured, yet gifted musician "lost between his dreams and reality".
Musically, this is an expansive work, both in terms of style and also instrumentation, and MLCD's all-embracing nature even manages to make extensive use of a theremin throughout, which is a bonus in my book.
"The Tragic Tale Of A Genius" manages to work as a cohesive concept album despite the many musical twists and turns and, whilst it's true to say that the songs fare better when taken as a whole, the vast majority are strong enough to stand on their own. The few exceptions include 'My Holy Grail', which is too reminiscent of Coldplay at their most bland, and the maudlin 'No Self Esteem', which meanders aimlessly for a while before coming to a discordant climax.
Of the thirteen tracks on offer here there are many more hits than misses, with particular highlights being 'He's Not There' with its moody slow-burning beginning and infectious chorus, the bittersweet 'Shine On' and its euphoric, soaring strings, and the piano-led 'Slow Me Down', which could easily be fellow Belgians, dEUS. Elsewhere on the album there's 'Piano Waltz' with its Vaudevillian feel, the Faustian 'What The Devil Says', which almost puts one in mind of a Belgian Jeff Buckley covering a Nick Cave track, and title track 'the Tragic Tale of a Genius' which starts off like Tom Waits playing Honky-Tonk in a wild west saloon and then morphs into a frantic gospel 'Shouting Music'-style instrumental finale.
"The Tale Of Tragic Genius" is an adventurous and refreshing release that, whilst it's not perfect, stands as a work of flawed genius well worth a listen.