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Even if E.G. Phillips doesn’t necessarily sound like Tom Waits vocally – although he certainly comes from the same school of vocal training, that of passion and feel over poise and polish – he does seem to be a kindred spirit ideologically and creatively speaking. It’s not what he does; it’s the way that he does it, as the saying goes.
Outlaw The Dead is an album full of wit and, whimsy and wisdom; just listen to the titular opener, a socially-conscious forecast of a possible shape of things to come, like a J. G. Ballard novel remade as a musical. “Boil The Ocean” gets us closest to Waitsian territory, a dark ballad built of raw vocals and chiming pianos, rising Hammond organs and sliding basslines, but with enough space to allow all manner of dark atmospheres to flourish and flow,
And so it goes. “It Ain’t Good To Be In Love With You” is a sultry, lounge-jazz number playing in the last bar open before the apocalypse and “ I Can Pay You (In Bottles of Wine)” justifies its existence due to its title alone.
Things round off with “I Am The One Who Ghosts” and Mar Vilaseca’s sultry vocals emulating a strange, basement cafe chanson part pre-WW2, part Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
In a world where music seems to be more conformist than ever, where industry puppet masters demand more of the same, where innovation is seen as being unfashionable and out of step and where people still try to tell you that bands like Foo Fighters are the saviour of music, it is great to have someone as creative, left-field, uncompromised and wonderfully unique as E.G. Phillips as a brilliant blot on that tired musical landscape.
Outlaw The Dead EP
Spotify
Boil The Ocean
A Bridge Too Far
