The Filth And Wonder Of...

British singer/songwriter Simon Breed makes his full-length debut with the aptly titled The Filth and Wonder of Simon Breed. How filthy? Well, the first track is called "Cunts, Pricks, Wankers and Shits." Those expecting the genial potty-mouthiness of artists ranging from Blowfly to the Queers, however, may be disappointed: that song, like the other four on this concise half-hour album, is a quietly intense catharsis of emotional anguish and despair. Jeff Buckley is an easy comparison, but the most obvious touchstone for The Filth and Wonder of Simon Breed is Mark Eitzel in the early days of American Music Club: skeletal but atmospheric guitar-based tunes with nods to folk and country prop up Breed's impassioned, florid delivery of his highly emotional, often desperate lyrics. Centerpiece track "The Brother Song," preceded by a harrowing spoken monologue, is the album at its most musically aggressive, but the nearly 11-minute epic "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of Your Face" is the album's most affecting track, a slow-building ballad of heartbreak featuring an extended instrumental coda that recalls the more delicate moments of Yo La Tengo. After that, a two-minute country pastiche called "Horse with No Cock" brings the album to a close with a rueful, self-deprecating grin that again strongly recalls Eitzel's facility for wry similies. ~ Stewart Mason|