Joe Gideon - Versa Vice
7/10
Joe Gideon (Bikini Atoll, Joe Gideon & The Shark) returns with this dark and sometimes disturbing solo release. Working with Nick Cave's drummer, Jim Sclavunos, Versa Vice presents a skewered look at love, madness and the transience of mortality.
Sounds heavy, I know, but in the same way that it sometimes takes time to like a new work colleague, even longer for them to become a friend, this is an album that rewards with effort. Although immediately accessible to those who have battled the aftermath of personal loss or despair, others may take slightly longer and more listens to really 'get it'.
Ultimately uplifting and totally rewarding, Gideon's vocals manage in turn to spit gravel like Cave, rant psychotropically like Lou Reed, and re-create the mystery of Jim Morrison, whilst still remaining undeniably personal. Ed Harcourt provides keyboards on the single The Lady With The Metallic Voice, which along with the hauntingly disturbed cover of Porter Wagoner's Rubber Room provide the standout tracks.
Although this album has been 'bubbling under' since its November release, it genuinely deserves wider recognition.
Joe Gideon, together with Jim Sclavunos, plays Bedfords Crypt in Norwich on March 24th.
7/10
