Orpheus – The Lowdown
Label: Ape House
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Orpheus – The Lowdown
This odd 2004 release (just issued in the U.S.) finds art-popper Partridge (XTC) and prog-rocker Blegvad (Slapp Happy) gathering the results of more than a decade of casual collaborations. The pleasant result is cohesive and artful. Blegvad was always the most pop-oriented of the Rock in Opposition types, while Partridge’s weird streak ensured XTC’s shining melodies were never mired in syrup; Orpheus, however, is not the place where their melodic approaches coincide. Instead, abstract poetry and affected, semi-avant sonic constructions make for challenging listening. Composed of brief fragments (many pieces don’t cross the two-minute mark) and extensive experiments (the haunting seven minutes of ‘Noun Verbsâ?�), Orpheus is daring work for both musicians. And that’s saying something.
This article appears in May 9-15, 2007.