John Cale is surely the platonic ideal of a solo artist. A multi instrumentalist whose work has encompassed everything from avant-garde to classical to soundtracks, he’s an artist who follows his muse, nothing else. He’s an artist in the true sense of the word.
His new song ‘Lazy Day’ continues the slow mutation of his 2010’s squelch-tronica. Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood opened the door to a boggy, playful realm of lo-fi hi-jinks; where pretty tunes had been given dub remixes by frogs. Then, always one to rethink the obvious things, not content with just re-releasing Music For A New Society, he made the album in his contemporary sound, adding disorientation to the originals desolation.
Now, ‘Lazy Day’ shifts this Cale for the age of Fake News past the damp electro and into something like a downbeat trippy jazz. It’s six minutes of miasmic sounds and vibes. It’s all smooth corners, nowhere to get a handle in this age of confusion. The song is as lost and adrift as we all are in the 21st century. But one thing remains constant; John Cale. Always pushing, challenging, never content to repeat. Life changes and so does Cale.
‘Lazy Day’ is out now…
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