COMICOPERA

Amazing that after all these years Wyatt continues to make relevent music that the critics all love. Hey he's even on a "hip" Indie label now. Of course there are many guests on board here as usual. I must say this is much better than the previous release "Cuckooland" in my opinion. Like an opera (Comic Opera) this is divided into three "acts", and it's about the comedy of the human condition. This is low key, experimental, quirky and beautiful.

"Stay Tuned" is actually a cover of a Anja Garbarek song. Wyatt sang a duet with her on a different song on that same album called "Smiling & Waving". By the way Steven Wilson produced that record for her and Mark Hollis and Richard Barbieri also guested. Anyway this is a melancholic tune with vocals. Female vocal melodies before 1 1/2 minutes and later after 3 minutes to end it. The bass violin and trombone really provide a sad mood. Eno adds some keys to this one. "Just As You Are" features female vocals although Robert comes in vocally at 2 1/2 minutes. The lyrics are so meaningful and touching. "You You" has again some meaningful and amusing lyrics.This is one of my favourites. There are lots of horns in this one including clarinet, sax, cornet and trombone. "A.W.O.L." is a mellow track with fragile vocals.The lyrics are both funny and sad. Cool to hear David Sinclair on piano here.

"Anachronist" is an instrumental with sax, trombone and cornet. Some bass violin after 1 1/2 minutes. Wyatt provides some keys and percussion as well in this mellow tune. "A Beautiful Place" opens with some spoken words and strummed guitar. Interesting that Wyatt and Manzanera both play guitar on this one. More comical lyrics. "Be Serious" is another favourite of mine as Robert gets into the topic of religion. "On The Town Square" is another instrumental. Some island sounds (steel pan) a minute in along with sax and percussion. "Mob Rule" is Wyatt at his best vocally. A melancholic tune. "A Beautiful War" is Wyatt at his cutting best lyrically. "Out Of The Blue" is a cool experimental track reminding me of SOFT MACHINE. Brian Eno adds his talents to this one. Great lyrics once again.

"Del Mondo" is another fav as he sings in Italian. "Cancion De Julieta" is the longest song. It's sung in Spanish and there is some dissonance. "Pastafari" is an instrumental and my least favourite. Vibes and "electrical interferance" on this one. "Fragment" is another fav with the processed female vocals that gradually become clearer. Wyatt adds piano and percussion. Cool song. "Hasta Siempre Comandante" is sung in Spanish and features actual drums and bass guitar. Piano leads the way though with the vocals. It becomes experimental with dissonant horns 4 minutes in to end it.

For me this is a solid record that's close to 4 stars. Wyatt continues to amaze me with his voice and lyrics. 3.5 stars.