Luke Haines – I Sometimes Dream Of Glue (Cherry Red)

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It’s not mandatory, but it helps to know a few things about Luke Haines before leaping, headlong into his new album.

  1. Luke Haines and his 1990s band The Auteurs may have kicked off the whole Britpop thing with their 1993 Mercury Prize-nominated album, New Wave
  2. Luke Haines started a side project named after the terrorist group Baader-Meinhof, writing songs about…terrorism
  3. Luke Haines came close to becoming a pop star when his next band, Black Box Recorder scored a top 20 hit with The Facts Of Life in 2000
  4. Luke Haines called for a National Pop Strike in 2001
  5. Luke Haines has written two memoirs including the brilliant Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In Its Downfall
  6. Luke Haines is the subject of the 2012 documentary Art Will Save The World

Ok, now that you know a little bit about Luke Haines, here’s the lowdown on his new album, I Sometimes Dream Of Glue.

It’s a concept album, based in the fictional English village of Glue Town, a place created by the spillage of experimental solvents sometime after WW2 and populated by inhabitants who are 2 ½ inches tall.

Yes, it’s fair to say that Luke Haines in an English eccentric in the tradition of the likes of Ray Davies, Syd Barrett and Robyn Hitchcock.

The 14 songs that make up the album are as short as their subjects…most clocking in at just under two minutes.

But Haines packs quite a lot into such a short time. His music is gently psychedelic, almost pastoral at times, while his lyrics are at times comical, at other times bawdy and at others, downright dark.

Angry Man On A Small Train finds its subject declaring his love (though you’re not very tall) while demanding to “bring back hanging, bring back shame”.

All 14 tracks show off Haines melodic gifts with highlights being the catchy Everybody’s Coming Together For The Summer and the excitable Oh, Michael with its cries of “baby let’s get high!”

With so many musical and lyrical twists and turns this is an album that will have you jumping back to the first track for another listen.

Marty Duda

 

Marty Duda
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