Momus Goes American
Carlos Macintosh | New York, NY | 03/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In his boldest stylistic departure since "Howard Hughes" (his embrace of Seattle grunge. Momus's, that is, not Howard Hughes's), Nick Currie AKA Momus presents the sound of ... Bay City, Michigan?! Yes, believe it or not, of all places. For his first album released on his own new American Patchwork label, Momus confounds expectations with this collection of remixes by a 22-year-old with the Warholesque surname Flesh who lives in the birthplace of Madonna and Agent Orange (the Vietnam War toxic chemical, not the band). But in riposte to his earlier lyric "Tell me I'm allowed to play the Fender Jaguar/Like the Velvet Underground" Momus has now fathered (or grandfathered? through the ersatz son named Flesh?) his own take on Lou Reed's legendary METAL MACHINE MUSIC. OSKAR TENNIS CHAMPION is intended to be difficult listening. And in terms of commercial appeal, it makes FOLKTRONIC sound like Madonna! But Momus's own take on Andy Warhol has been "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 people." I'm not sure there are 15 people in the world who would rate this album five stars, but I will - out of respect for Momus's unflinching nerve, and not being afraid to contradict himself. And who knows? Word has it that he's now following in the footsteps of Iggy Pop (whose "Success" he reprised in "Lolitapop Dollhouse"). Momus still has Lust For Life! What will he come up with next?"
A cold and psychedellic MOMUS lp that wants to be GERMAN?
Todd E. Jones | Edison, NJ USA | 04/08/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A cold and psychedellic MOMUS lp that wants to be GERMAN?.. It's true... I love all the Momus albums and I love this one too but this one is different. Nick Curre decided NOT to be the control freak as usual and let JOHN FASHION FLESH "re-produce" this album. Basically, Flesh (of the Super Madigral Brothers) added bleeps, sound effects, bangs, R2D2 noises and a myriad of sounds to Nick's songs. Some people thought Nick's recent work as minimalist electro-pop. It is is some sense but I always thought that even though the drums never hit hard, the melodies and the music was full and complete. OSKAR is very full and very psychedellic sounding. From the first track "Spooky Kabuki", the trip begins. Another psychedellic-sounding track is "Electro Sexual sewing Machine".. It's beautiful. Nick's voice and the keyboard complement each other very well. Standout tracks include "The Last Communist", "The Laird Of Inversnecky", "Electrosexual Sewing Machine", "Lovely Tree" and "Palm Deathtop". Unlike "Folktronic", "Ping Pong", etc., "OSKAR" is NOT a catchy album. There aren't many catchy hooks and immediate perverse themes. "My Sperm Is Not Your Enemy" is the typical MOMUS track but and so is "Multiplying Love". They have that Momus perversity that we all love... But the others are filled with odd references, weird situations, and wild themes for the well-read individual. "Beowulf" is a perfect example. We all read "Beowulf" in high school, right? MOMUS puts a weird spin on this tragic hero who is never full appreciated because he is deformed. The wild situations continue. "Lapdog" is about a person who is sent to Antartica and is followed by penguins. "Is It Because I'm A Pirate?" is about a pirate who cannot go on a normal date because he is known for killing and robbing people. No other artist could get away with these songs!!! That's why we love Momus!"Scottish Lips" is a cute little tale about silly things that make us love one another.. In "Multiplying Love", Momus asks his lover, why be mad at him for loving anoher girl? "I'm simply multiplying love, there's never enough in the world."While the other MOMUS albums INSTANTLY grabbed my attention, this one took some time to grow on me. "Ping Pong" had "I Want You But I Don't Need You". The "Don't Stop The Night" LP had "Hairstyle Of The Devil". The "Folktronic" LP had many catchy songs like "Appalachia", "Smooth Folk Singer" and "Finnegin The Folk Hero Of HTML". The "Little Red Songbook" LP had "Born To Be Adored" and "Symphonies Of Beethoven". Well.. "OSKAR" does not have any of those tracks that INSTANTLY stick in your head... Instead, you have to let the album wash over you and you have to appreciate it."Little Shubert" is in German! and now, it comes to the part of the review. This LP is COLD and wants to be German. The title track is about his Tennis champion uncle who wants to build a part of a city and gets into some weird situations. For the most part, the album has COLD imagery. Snow... snow and snow.. "Lapdog" takes place in Antartica. "Pierrot Lunaire" talks about being "in the bleak midwinter" and "The Last Communist" has that COLD Russian feeling. "The Ringtone Cycle" is an instrumental song by Oliver Cobol. It recaps some melodies on the album. Overall, "OSKAR TENNIS CHAMPION" is a new kind of MOMUS lp. He's constantly changing and growing and it's a beautiful thing. Flesh did a great job on the "re-production" and MOMUS has a whole NEW sound. It's full, it's wild, it's odd, it's psychedellic sounding without drug use or drug references. IF you are NEW to MOMUS, I suggest getting "Philosophy Of..", "Ping Pong", "Folktronic", "Poison Boyfriend" and "Tender Pervert" first... but every MOMUS album is different and this one is too. While I would not say it is one of my favorite Momus albums, it's well done and over-flowing with literary references, name-dropping, European issues, and it's all wrapped together with Nick Currie's wild outlook. It's new, it's different, it's wild... It's MOMUS."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1