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Jody Wildgoose
Afterlife



Super-charming cottage-psych from Sheffield. Tells Eminem “it’s OK to be gay”

Jody Wildgoose

Afterlife could not be better named, since Wildgoose – a former indie starlet with ’90s fraggle strivers Various Vegetables – seemed like a man who’d gone to a better place. His 2003 debut Lovely White Teeth was a freakish Wish You Weren’t Here from Brian Wilson’s sandpit, fragmentary and wriggling with mentalism. By contrast, Afterlife rocks with good vibes, coherent tunes and a winning commitment to the intrinsic value of rock’n’roll (“making love and rock music – we’ll be so happy!”), making a fine companion for those already sold on, say, Kelley Stoltz. There’s a languid, Dean Ween groan to Wildgoose’s voice, a hint of danger in the past (in Oh Ted an abusive father is electrocuted in the bath) and a compellingly gung-ho, last-chance-saloon feel to the whole caper, but if Wildgoose can wring such varied, Technicolor thrills from an 8-track, there’s no telling what his blown mind would make of a proper studio and a simpatico band. Watch this space.

Danny Eccleston

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 21/07/2008

Further Listening

Jody WildgooseLovely White Teeth (Sketchbook, 2003)

Kelley Stoltz Antique Glow (Beautiful Happiness, 2004)

Julian Cope - Fried (Mercury, 1984)


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