Label: Warp Format: CD,LP
How do I start talking about Jimi Tenor? He`s mates with Pan(a)sonic and certainly one of the most curious individuals I`ve come across of late – rumour has it that our Jimi likes to appear on stage on top of a white horse. A lot of Organism has a cocktail lounge Jazz Funk feel, rendered through Electro of course. This doesn`t go anywhere near summing our Jimi up. As I was sitting in front of my computer, cruddy Walkman earphones plugged into the CD-ROM drive (where the so-called ‘experts’ had forgeotten to fit the cable to the sound card – Grrr) … Anyway, picture me in this absurd situation with countless styles and artists popping up in my mind.
OOrganism threatens to become conventional Pop Easy Listening at many points, but Jimi`s inherent wierdness never lets it go the whole distance. Either noise interrupts the smooth Funk, or what he’s muttering about is just too off the wall to be regular Pop. “The Ring” by Fad Gadget seems to be an obvious comparison: Frank Tovey sings what can only be described as an overly sentimental ballad about marriage, yet by the end of the song Tovey is singing about watching his loved one die before him – without changing tone at all. This is the feeling I get from Jimi.
“Year of Apocalypse” just shouldn`t be so damn happy and Funky – I`m sure Frank Zappa enters the picture somewhere. Maybe not deliberately, but Jimi seems to share the same taste(lessness) for cheesy Jazz tunes. Laibach also popped up in my mind, believe it or not. It’s not immediately obvious, but the choir and quasi-Wagnerian feel to “Serious Love” are responsible for this. Then lots of anonymous styles came along: Starsky & Hutch and every Seventies cop show; Lounge Jazz Funk; House; and a horde of Eighties bands. Take all of this stuff, mix it together and cook it until it reduces to about 50 minutes … Oh, and add a generous measure of Jimi Tenor … and the result is: pretty bizarre. Jimi Tenor could so easily be Easy Listening, only there’s nothing easy about Jimi. And then of course there’s “Muchmo”, the track you never wanted to hear on a bad trip. I don`t know if I can recomend Jimi: I`m not sure what to make of him. If you want something ordinary, steer clear. If you like intriguingly bizarre anthems for love and the end of the world Jimi, might well be your man.
-Alaric Pether-
