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 Caught in the Carousel - Music Reviews and More
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Phil Wilson
Industrial Strength
Slumberland
"Musicians don't retire; they stop when there's no more music in them," Louis Armstrong once quipped. Thankfully for us, there's nothing but music left in Phil Wilson. Ending a nearly twenty year recording retirement (a decision of which, the singer/songwriter says, "I decided…that I'd been quite mad"), the former June Brides frontman returns with the Industrial Strength E.P.
For anyone familiar with Wilson's old band, they know he can write perfect pop songs in his sleep (see: "Every Conversation" or "I Fall") and Wilson is said to be hard at work on a full-length album of his own material, but in the meantime his post-retirement comeback proceedings begin with a four-song covers E.P. that finds him tackling some unlikely material. Taking on Krautrock/post-punk classics by Kraftwerk, Faust, Throbbing Gristle and S/T, Wilson melts away the noise and the sonic aggression and reveals the decidedly tuneful centers of each number. For example, replete with banjo and a sleepy jangle, Kraftwerk's "Neon Lights" is transformed into a real stunner, while Throbbing Gristle's "United" is remodeled into a dreamy hit of shoegazer folk. Elsewhere, Faust's "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" is made over as a sly little pop number and S/T's "What Happens…Happens" is just marvelous, starting out faraway and wistful and then, out of nowhere, pounces with a big, fuzzy chorus.
Aside from being a brilliant singer/songwriter, Wilson is such a gifted interpreter, I'm convinced that he could take Motörhead's "Dancing on Your Grave" and turn it into a tender and affecting ballad.
While much has been made of The Verve's reunion, Phil Wilson's return to the ring may very well be the story of the year. And these aren't even his songs—wait until he takes swings of his own.
—Alex Green
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