Various Acts - 'Twisted Nerve Zoo' (Twisted Nerve)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Although you never know quite what to expect from Twisted Nerve, it's a safe bet that you weren't expecting this. First, they gave us an album of music for motorbikes, which wasn't too weird. Now, further turning the tradition of label samplers on its head, they treat us to 'Zoo' - an album of songs all themed around animals, made by artists held captive in the Twisted Nerve Zoo itself. And this one most certainly is weird.
Yup, that's right folks, it is a concept album. But stop running away, because thankfully, it doesn't work. It attempts, somehow, to tell the theory of evolution musically. Quite where this tale is buried under all this strange magic is unclear. But where it fails in that aim, it more than succeeds in forming an utterly engaging, brilliant collection of work from some of the finest artists the country has to offer.
Kicking off with the first of three contributions from Andy Votel, 'The Polar Bear Attacks', which fittingly sounds akin to a circus-crowd being eaten to a techno beat, the album as a whole is an, oddly, highly enjoyable mix of perplexing electronica and quirky indie-folk music. For every creepy, nightmare-inducing dance-flavoured number, such as the aforementioned and 'Tropical Insect House', as contributed by Ian & Joe from Mum and Dad, there's the bubblegum sweet tones of Misty Dixon, DOT's gorgeous 'Horses' or the charming acoustic humour of Mariano's 'Batman Revisited'. It's one half Rudyard Kipling leading a campfire sing-along and the other half the Elephant Man working the decks.
Despite the strong line-up featured, by far, the main attraction for many will be the inclusion of a new Badly Drawn Boy piece, 'Push Me / Pull Me', a cute oompah-style ode to his pet Llama which sounds vaguely like a mid-90s Blur B-Side on a roundabout. Like everything Damon Gough touches, it's a loveable effort, but nowhere near his peak.
The same could be said of most artists who contribute - none have really created anything of true genius, but it's a testament to the strength of the label's roster that even a collection of their cuttings, outtakes and experiments can make such an entertaining, coherent full body of work. Sure, some could do themselves a favour by just spending a little more time on the composition, but the fact that so many donate so much means that 'Twisted Nerve Zoo' is always a joy, never stale nor suffering from a shortage of ideas. The accompanying live shows, held earlier this month, must have been something pretty special.
So, although the titles of nearly every track have a non-human thread running through them, at times, it's the only link back to the original concept. To some, this may seem like a cop out, yet it does help steer the album clear of the possible pitfall of being demoted to the status of novelty record, which, for all its humour, it definitely isn't. Instead, it's simply a great introduction to what a sweet, confusing, spooky place the Twisted Nerve Zoo can be.
Notably, the cover-art shows a park-warden being chased out by a Polar Bear. Perhaps it's the only reason anyone would want to leave.
Artists in this article: Various Acts
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