It is, to say the least, a little unexpected to discover Scott Walker having an obsession with the current crop of American mavericks. But if the likes of Fassbinder chanteuseHanna Schyglla, avant-jazzster Evan Parker and a lot of Swedish films represent the more predictable side of his selection for the Meltdown festival, it’s Elliott Smith, Smogand now Jim O’Rourke who’ve proved the crowd-pullers thus far.
O’Rourke, for those who haven’t had the stamina to follow his hyperactive and eclectic career thus far, is something of a Renaissance man of the current American underground. He’s produced Smog and Stereolab, tried his hand at modern classical composition, free improv and powerbook electronica, and is currently sitting in on bass with the eternally-marvellous Sonic Youth.
Tonight, though, he’s playing at being the artful singer-songwriter. Backed by a stellar band featuring High Llama Sean O’Hagan on piano and the ace Rob Mazurek doing the Miles Davis business on cornet, O’Rourke sits hunched over his guitar and picks out songs mainly drawn from his brilliant ‘Eureka’ LP of last year and the equally beguiling ‘Halfway To A Threeway’ EP.
It’s terrific, too. O’Rourke’s usual modus operandi is one of ruthless improvisation underpinned by a reluctance to ever do the same thing twice, so the sight of him playing these gentle, crafted hunks of Americana - much in thrall to the work of John Fahey andVan Dyke Parks - is a rare treat.
For all the apparent sweetness, however, there’s a pretty sick twist to these songs.O’Rourke’s the kind of writer who delights in charming his audience with his pretty tunes before they slowly realise exactly what he’s singing about. To be specific: the profound misanthropy of ‘Ghost Ship In A Storm’ and the mightily sick of ‘Halfway To A Threeway’, a seduction of someone in a coma that’s in such extravagant bad taste it’d do The Bloodhound Gang proud.
Proof, if you needed it, that allegedly serious musicians (i)can(/I) have a sense of humour, however ‘experimental’ it may be.
