TIM KEY – WITH A
STRING QUARTET ON A BOAT (ANGULAR RECORDINGS/THE INVISIBLE DOT)
Tim Key has been slyly
lingering for a few years now. I have
seen him do stand-up, appear in plays (the very fun “Party”), read poetry on
Newswipe and perform “music” in a most sardonic and downright abrupt/blunt
manner. Not that he is playing any
instruments, more he is quipping over the tune while criticising those playing
around him. Such is his demeanour. He reminds me of the clever kid at school
that disliked everyone.
I have friends who
really hate Tim Key. He polarises many
like a bear with a black nose and a white body.
Often he looks like somebody just beat him up. Perhaps they did. This is very much a mentality I associate
with.
Released on vinyl and
download this is a rare object, an album that contains as much studio bickering
as it does actual music content. This is
meta music that you can either hate or enjoy but generally before even playing
it your opinion of this piece will probably already be formed.
The premise is what it
says on the tin: Tim Key with a string quartet on a boat being recorded just
like on the Zissou ship in Life Aquatic.
From here Key dips into his ample body of poems as the band illuminate
the ambience of the piece. If Wes Anderson
made a record (a good record) it might sound like this.
As a piece of work it
covers a lot of ground. Often the poetry
is high brow and entertaining stuff, as are the classical
arrangements/accompaniments. Then there
is the bickering between Key and Tom Basden.
Their exchanges sound straight from a comedy podcast and in the banter
tradition of Derek And Clive records (sans swearing) as the latter’s participation
in recording is teased in a Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington style.
This feels quite a unique
record. There are elements of Ivor
Cutler coupled with the surreal meta poetry of a most pompous artist somewhat
in the style of a Ricky Gervais creation.
Multilayered this is perhaps often irony spread on irony, truths
presented in a manner of pretend when really they are the pure thoughts of a
person at their worst. It’s good to be
bad. And dark.
“I have hired a
floating studio.”
Immediately the
performance, for that is what it is, addresses death and dining (“I’m marrying
dead Claire” Edward announced at the annual curry”) followed by lesser subjects
such as dogs, pipes and feeling itchy.
It doesn’t take long
for Key to concede this is just an album of a man in a tracksuit reading poems
made possible from the money left over from another project. Where’s the need for people to pressure
themselves?
Clocking in at thirty
tracks a lot of ground is covered including driving, war, doctors, eggs, goats,
plastic surgery, money, dealing with giants, yawning on dates, lies, jumping
out of a plane, all of which are addressed in Key’s trademark droll and awkward
fashion.
On track 28 is
suddenly occurs to Key and Basden that the string quartet (“the treacherous
fiddlers”) have abandoned the recording, abandoned ship. With this Basden finally gets his moment and
goes solidly solo with the surprisingly “Lord’s Moment”.
Finally it all ends
with “Waterloo
If you like albums
that sound like studio outtakes you will like this. If you like cohesive readings of masterful
poetry you will not like this. Here, for
better and worse, is a unique work. Poems
in the Key of life.
Thesaurus moment:
priggish.
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