Lewis Idle, the mysterious enigmatic balladeer with the blood red ‘Risus sardonicus’ we introduced in September 2013 is back having ditched the glam-stomp- gutter- grime of his previous release ‘Hair and Perfume.’ Proving himself something of a musical chameleon, his latest offering ‘The Night We Almost Fell In Love‘ sees him staggering back from the prom, armed with a tune that sounds like the result of Sune Rose Wagner / Joey Ramone collaboration. As the tale of lust, regret, sexual politics, and the crucial “what if….” unfold, Mr Idle proves himself to be a compelling storyteller and one we suspect would be more often than not found lying in a whiskey soaked gutter looking at the (dead) stars.
But who the devil is he ? – His label Trashmouth Records are strangely reticent on the subject, one could say almost nervous. They do however reveal they first chanced across Lewis on a moonlit evening “where his opening song involved a cymbal, a glass eye and a double bass with one string…” and when pressed – “Hailing, as far as we can gather, from Hastings via somewhere yet unknown, Lewis Idle is something of a night-time enigma. All material arrives at the label via post on C-60 cassette tape and comes with hand drawn artwork.”
So there you go. Clear as mud. Nevertheless, when the songs are this good, the music rather speaks for itself.
This is just a bit beautiful. Cracking tune:-)