This is a rich and varied album, musically quite complex and adventurous at times, and elsewhere there is a privileging of vitriol over songcraft as with the satirical squashing of Nick Clegg in The Incredible Melting Man, and the angry attack on Kelvin Mackenzie in Plague of Toads.
Before this slant into chest-catharsis, righteous as it is, Nick Harper has written and performs soaring melodies that do inevitably remind of Dad Roy - in the falsetto and other vocal tones, and the guitar work, or the talking in second track Juicy Fruit Girl - but the production, including harmonies, are almost Zappaesque at times as on The Beginning is High, again on the latter part of the album, but opener and aptly named This Is The Beginning is more folk-based with sweet harmonies to privilege melody, here reminding of The Beach Boys! It is quite beautiful. And I hear Bowie too, so there is an eclecticism to revel in whilst listening.
This is an album to unravel depths again and again, and it will be worth the aural digging.
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