Folktronic
Whatever goes on in music, whichever genres rise and fall, you can always rely on Momus to be there in the background, cackling madly and intriguing/annoying the world with his latest collision of sounds. Having played the intense folk-merchant and the shabby traditional troubadour, this laconic and challenging New York-based Scot (real name Nicholas Currie) has turned to electronica forFolktronic. But, being Momus and fancying himself as a "minor god of mockery," he chooses to mix this shiny new form with the centuries-old tunes and rhythms of America, Ireland, and his native Scotland, as well as the dockside shanties and vaudevillian choruses of his early career. The result is a strange collage that's sometimes silly, often hilarious, and usually interesting. The opening "Appalachia" sees him dreaming of his "electronic mountain girl" over pattering percussion, sampled banjo, and tacky, Stylophone-style organ, while "Mountain Music" is a pointed and lyrical essay on the origins of U.S. folk set to a weirdly subdued hoedown. Throughout, Currie proves himself (once again) to be a witty social commentator and an able comedian, his insights allowing us to forget the music's occasional descent into cheesy Frank Sidebottom territory.--Dominic Wills