Vincent Gallo. A man for whom art, film and arrogance are all a way of life, hindered only by a colossal ego that refuses to be interviewed unless it gets the front cover. A man who played in a band with the late artist Jean-Michel Basquait, directed the ace Buffalo 66, has cameod in a My Vitriol video and is now playing the lead in a forthcoming film of the Charles Manson story.
He's also been making and releasing music since the mid seventies, of which this is the first properly available album for Sheffield based label Warp. So, an uncompromising melange of awkward time signatures that scream ART, and slabs of unearthly electronic wig-out is obviously the result then. Except, thankfully, it isn't.
Low of fi it may be - opener 'I Wrote This Song For the Girl Paris Hilton' is smoky jazz beamed in from another age - the vintage equipment makes songs like 'Honey Bunny' or 'Laura' sound like they were taped off a stalkee's answer machine, but also helps to give these tunes an innocent charm. Gallo's voice gently hovers like a smacked out Julie London on the title track, with the refrain of "When you come near to me/ I go away". It's beautiful in a but-don't-give-him-your-number way.
Overall, 'When' is a bit of a spooky treat. It could easily soundtrack those wet afternoons spent drawing hearts in the condensation with the girl of your dreams, the girl who you'd had a delusional month long 'relationship' with, but which actually boiled down to a couple of phone calls and an awkward encounter in a bar.
You could easily fall in love with this album, but keep the door chain on, eh?
