If more people were able to blend the effortlessly infectious with the singularly unique, the instantly accessible with the truly alternative, as Julian Shah-Tayler does, then the musical landscape would be a richer and more rewarding place. When we hear terms such as “alternative” or “outsider,” our mind probably conjures all manner sonic machinations and genres being forced together against their will. But what Julian proves in this latest single, “Malicious Intent,” is that it is possible, if you are as clever as he is, at least, to make music that is both new and fresh sounding and also brilliantly contagious. Why fear change when it is this fun and funky?
Blending a skittering spacious groove with strange electronic bleeps and blips, vocals that wander between the operatic and the Bowie-esque, and distant walls of growling guitar into a post-pop package, this is music from another place yet music that could, and indeed should, in an ideal world, become the template for other artists to build sonic weapons with which to assault the mainstream.
And it is lyrically intriguing too. “Malicious Intent” is a missive to what he calls his “Untalented Mister Ripley,” someone once close to him who was only ever interested in using those around him for his own personal gain, it’s an open musical letter and a declaration of war. I guess the lesson here is this: never piss off an artist; you might just end up in one of their songs…now that is what I call revenge.
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