Whether or not you consider PILLOW TALK witty and divertingly subversive or annoying and unfunny is made a more difficult decision by the virtuosity of their playing and the pleasure to be derived from their diverse song-writing. At times you wonder why they’ve decided to opt for such a jokey manner when playing with a straight bat may well leave many listeners feeling more satisfied.
No matter. All manner of genres get thrown into the PILLOW TALK repertoire. The opening track (‘Gloves’) of their latest album ‘Criminal Conviction’ comes across like a Simply Red pastiche while ‘Riding On My Bike’ sounds like Booker T mixing it up with The Faces. ‘Muddin Thuddin Bike’/’The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea’ is a melange of Meddle-era Floyd, Do Me Bad Things, Focus and killer Heavy Metal riffs with about half a dozen other musical ideas: shouldn’t work but it does.
‘Dr Roland Parker vs. The Defibrillator – Part 2’ would make 10CC proud while ‘She’s My Wife’ sounds like a reggae/dub inflected The Bees. By the time ‘Dr.Allbran’ (a comical revision of Dr. Albarn’s ‘It’s My Life’ with a touch of Five) comes around you may as well give up guessing what treats are left in store. For the record last track ‘Song For Peace’ is a sea-shanty in the vein of Neil Innes. There’s a hidden track but you can decide for yourselves who it is they’re riffing on that one.
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Unremittingly shite or inspiringly daft, depending on your mood: a visit to their website (sample quote regarding the marriage of the band’s drummer: “It was an emotional event, even the cake was in tiers”) or a play around with the interactive CD-ROM may help you make up your mind.
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