His first major release since a so-near-yet-so-far brush with semi-fame a couple of years back, Flick The Vs is also King Creosote’s best for a wee while. Lyrically alluding to that very subject at times, it’s also a fascinating insight into a singer-songwriter dusting himself down and battling back in some style.
Initially wrong-footing the listener with the mechanised beats of ace seven-minute opener No One Had It Better, this record soon settles down into a sound and style that’s more familiar from KC, where his Celtic-tinged flavour of folk flitters alongside occasional electronic pulses and orchestral flourishes. This time around, the one-man musical cottage industry that is Kenny Anderson gets it just about spot-on, especially when his warm hug of a voice is left uncluttered. At its best, especially on the metaphor-littered imagery of Steve Mason-assisted single Coast On By, this is a record to make you believe that Flick The Vs could open up those doors to fame once more for King Creosote. Here’s at least two fingers up to those who may doubt that.
