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"Cirque Du Mort" - a single review-
How can I begin to define this song ?
An oddity ? - very probably;
A successful diversification ? - very definitely !
I think its appearance and appeal is anything but 'weird', its a great, original, witty song, without ever straying close to being contrived, patronising or smacking of hoxton-chic, if you'll pardon that pun (!)
It isnt any of those things, and how does it manage that ? by never taking itself too seriously. Even the darkest barbs of twisted commentary are tempered by humour, whilst using every device available (melody, lyricism, spoken word et al) to acknowledge our guilty curiosity with the macabre, the travelling freak shows, snake oil peddlers, soothsayers and cloud-bursters. Like the sideshows that hauled themselves across America with great financial success using a sojourn through the darkness of the human conditionand turning it into sound business practise.!!
They marketed themselves using the original moneyspinner - the big daddy of them all - 'Religion' - and, more specifically, its running as a 'business' with profitability its goal. Sermonising (demonising ?!!!) the seeds of doubt with ease; lets face it - theres nothing like the threat of fire, brimstone and final judgement to provoke an instantaneous consumer spending boom.
".create a climate of guilt and fear, then offer the solution.at a price" - that sentence is actually almost advertorial - just factor in Michael Winner's turgid upper-class whine and you can instantly imagine the neon luminescent signage glued jauntily to spires and steeples a-plentywill we ever see 'St Paul's Cathedral' as sponsored by McDonalds ? ~ 'The golden arches' - an en route Automat providing support services to 'The Golden Gates'.[surely not ? such hypocrisy ?!!] - the total antithesis of organised 'religion' - relying (by its very definition!) on a 'faith and belief' system.?!.
= "take me down to the Vatican city where the coffers are full and the cardinals pretty"
(theres a comedic cover begging to be written there, Im sure of it !!) but this witty epithet blows smoke up their asses - and is all the better for it !
To over-analyse its multi-layering and mash-up of style origins, is like trying to unravel spaghetti with a chopstick(largely confusing and essentially pointless)
to me it evokes these thoughts:
Youre being read a Russian folk legend, thats been dipped in pastis, illustrated by Lautrec, that has pop-up mutants and freaks by Rion Vernon.this tome is then left on the steps of a hand-painted Romany gypsy caravan, by a magic monkey who can time travel
and these visuals:
Its like youve invited Mannon in, handed over heart and soul, and the horned beast takes human form (replete with goatee and full gallic sleaze) he don's top-hat, tails and takes up his role of host and ringmaster, to his very own bordello. A darkly twisted house of burlesque.nine raven-haired courtesan's spilling over the top of their corsets, serve absinthe, strychnine and belladonna, to those who reside, huddled round small tables, barely visible in the candlelit gloom and gitane smoke.but even unseeing, all eyes focus toward a 3-ring circus, fayre and freak show.the centrepiece of the seedy underbelly.and what WILL be revealed when the curtain rises?
It being 'different' to their other material is irrelevant. It can and does stand alone, and does and will stand together with the rest of Doktor Mandrake's material - and in answering potential critics - probably the best thing I can say is : 'The Clash' - They hit the ground running with their debut album and from there, they never stopped searching, asking, listening and learning -and THAT, is a lesson, to us all.
Listen to it.Learn from it.Love it.
In short: A single so deliciously twisted and replete with wry wit, its a winner, a spinner, a fucking TV Dinner !
by the stupendous Stripeycat. A note of thanks.
From the righthand corner of the forgotten lands where style plays a solitary third fiddle, borne of the Evalgüd Circus Folk of Whoknowswheresville, with nothing but the mystical magic monkey and a guy called Joe for companycame a man of peculiar vices.
A tale of woe and Joe comethas soon as said tale has been writ.
Watch this space, dilligently.
