50. I Trawl the Megahertz -- Paddy McAloon

Mojo Says: "Steve McQueen, we hardly knew you."

Album: I Trawl the Megahertz
Artist: Paddy McAloon
Year: 2003
Length: 52'29"

Track Listing:

1. I Trawl the Megahertz
2. Esprit de Corps
3. Fall from Grace
4. We Were Poor...
5. Orchid 7
6. I'm 49
7. Sleeping Rough
8. Ineffable
9. ...But We Were Happy

Favorite Tracks:

1. We Were Poor...
2. I Trawl the Megahertz
3. Sleeping Rough

Worst Tracks:
I could say that Ineffable is boring, but I think I would be missing the point.

Is it weird?
As an album? Not particularly.
Compared to everything else Paddy McAloon has recorded? Absolutely.

Review:

It is probably relevant for me to mention that I am a huge fan of Prefab Sprout, of which Paddy McAloon was the frontman and primary songwriter. Their album Steve McQueen (which is what Mojo is refering to in the Mojo Says blurb) is in my top 5 favorite albums ever, and other albums of theirs' like Swoon or From Langley Park to Memphis are also great. But, considering this album wound up on a list of the weirdest albums of all time, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. And I certainly didn't expect this.

The music here isn't particularly experimental, but it is still challenging. The entire album basically plays as one long 52-odd minute piece of music, which is about as far away from Prefab Sprout as you can get while still staying inside the pop universe. This is the closest I can imagine chamber pop will ever need to be analyzed.

I recommend this album, but only after you've dug deep into Prefab Sprout's catalog first.

Grade:

8/10 


Listen: