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Vinny Peculiar
The Fall and Rise of Vinny Peculiar
On Song
Article
written by Ged M
Nov 27, 2006.
It was a surprise to discover that Vinny Peculiar isn’t the Manchester institution I thought he was (he was born Alan Wilkes in Worcestershire) because he’s surrounded by famous Manc musicians for his fifth album. Former Smiths Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon are in the band (Andy Rourke is a former member) and ex-World of Twist-er Ben Knott plays keyboards. There’s plenty of Smithsian jangle (check out Gannon’s bright chords on ‘Man About The House’ or the shimmering melodies of ‘Song To Bring Back A Girl’) but lyrically and vocally Vinny resembles Neil Hannon in his gift for acerbic observation and raw confession. On ‘Sorry God’ he politely stands up the Lord in a series of clever one-liners while ‘Revolt into Style’ attacks the media’s obsession with celebrity: “outsider artist comes in from the cold/ rock’n’roll rebel does just what he’s told”, on a song that also has some spectacular brass and strings arranged by Gannon. There’s a mood of resignation to ‘A Man Afraid’while the unnamed track beyond ‘London Train’ is a throbbing electrobeat confessional that should have been upfront on the album: “I have created so many lies to justify my weakness/ I’m Billy Fisher in disguise”.
There’s a ‘making of’ DVD packaged with this release that both confirms the charm of Vinny Peculiar and reveals that at least some ex-members of the Smiths are well-balanced individuals with a sense of humour. The word that best sums up Vinny Peculiar is ‘idiosyncratic’: that makes him something of an acquired taste but if you’ve ever hankered for more of the literate pop of the Divine Comedy, Luke Haines or even Jarvis, it’s worth sampling the new Peculiar.
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