CHARLES E. CULLEN – Welcome to the world of… (Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation)
Posted: May 4th, 2005, by Simon MinterWeird, weird, free-associating anti-folk which makes me think that Charles E. Cullen has done too much acid and spent too much time living on his own, rocking wildly and intently on a hand-made rocker on his hand-made porch. Twenty songs of bluesy, reverbed vocals and beginner-style guitar with a variety of comedic titles (‘I got a rare poultry disease’, ‘Kenny’s outdated muscle relaxers’ etc). They remind me of very early Beck; stream-of-consciousness glimpses of strangeitude recorded without apparent reference to anything, and played with the fervour of the Shaggs on an off-day.
The enjoyment of the sheer oddness on display is slightly tempered by the volume of material, which is sometimes overwhelming. I feel this might be a good CD to put on after picking up a sketchy hitch-hiker: make sure to turn up the guitar solos, which sound like the scratching feedback of a murderer.
Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation
Simon Minter
Simon joined diskant after falling on his head from a great height. A diskant legend in his own lifetime Simon has risen up the ranks through a mixture of foolhardiness and wit. When not breaking musical barriers with top pop combo Sunnyvale Noise Sub-element or releasing records in preposterously exciting packaging he relaxes by looking like Steve Albini.
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