Styles Of The Unexpected

In which Mr. Votel takes time out from his busy schedule as ultra-hip Twisted Nerve impressario, graphic designer and saviour of Tokyo from the twin menace of Mechagodzilla and Moth-Ra (possibly). Thus delivering proof positive that he can do this ‘music stuff’ too – although on the strength of this offering – not entirely successfully.

Much of Styles Of The Unexpected has been released elsewhere in different guises and, in the case of the knob-twiddling exercise in futility that is ‘Return Of The Spooky Driver’, in a far superior form.

The album’s opening tracks are nothing to carrier-pigeon home about, being comprised mostly of sonic doodles on Andy’s notepad, with the exception of ‘Girl On A GoPed’, which comes off like a lo-fi Dubstar. I don’t remember writing an irate letter to my local TD to demand such a thing, but I may have been drunk at the time.

It’s not until the closing stages of Styles… that things begin to gel together more convincingly – particularly the excellent ‘Riderbrow’, with Lee Gorton’s laconic mumbles lending a definite air of a Sunday morning wasted-land. ‘Diode’ and ‘Doe-Eyed’ both demonstrate Votel’s handiness with a nifty organ flourish, with the latter borrowing not-altogether-unpleasantly from ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’.

Overall though, a classic case of landing on your snot between two stools – Styles… is neither funky enough for the dancefloor, nor cerebral or subtle enough to engage the listener in any serious way. Although I’d pay serious money for the soundtrack to Voteltron Vs. Mechagodzilla.