Edinburgh’s Dominic Waxing Lyrical deliver a long awaited album double dosed with music and lyrics that are both equally as unpredictable as they are clever.
Frontman, songwriter and poet Dominic Harris’ unique bard-like spoken/sung delivery smoothly transitions between the album’s eclectic changing styles; from the medieval folk of ‘Swan Song’, the brooding post-punk dirge ‘Hell On Earth’ and the new wave synths of ‘Thursday (Searching)’.
These short songs move in unlikely directions, change tempo, time and mood at whim, and often end abruptly; their compact, yet textured and detailed nature warrants repeated listens.
Harris’ lyrics range from absurd outbursts like “the thick drawl of a hundred watt disco” on ‘Wednesday’, to the tragi-comic ‘Nightwatchman’ that honestly details aspects of its eponymous characters’ existential crisis and the resulting effect on his daughter.
While the former is jarring, confusing and reliant on the listener’s imagination to decipher, the latter’s words feel genuine, open and confessional due to its presumably autobiographical nature; both virtues make for great, weird pop songs.
‘Swansong’ and ‘End Of The World’ exhibit large and memorable choruses that impress beyond their simple, clean and modest production thanks to a careful blend of the varied instrumentation in the mix and great hooks.
The album’s pacing as a whole feels very satisfying and is rounded off by ending track ‘Ambition’, that always feels on edge and ready to break out but holds back, combining cheap, Casio-esque preset synth sounds with beautiful and delicate orchestration, that quietly weeps above Harris’ send-off as both elements intertwine and play cleverly with the suggestively suicidal lyrics, resulting in an ambiguous, yet, strangely optimistic ending.
It feels part of its very design that for every great pop moment Dominic Waxing Lyrical delivers there is a time signature change or reference to Soren Kierkegaard, which clearly cements it within a cult territory that is ultimately the domain of any character as unique.
Aside from recording quality, it would not be unreasonable to assume Woodland Casual is a hip, hidden gem recovered from the early 1980’s, being re-released and remastered for a new generation.
While it may feel like a 30 rather than 18 year wait for the band’s dedicated fan base, Dominic Waxing Lyrical’s character and charm is immune to fading from vinyl and MP3 alike.
Words: Liam Gingell
