McCartney II is likely to be jarring for an unsuspecting McCartney or Beatles fan. Its largely experimental, devoting most of its songs to eccentric synth-pop thats just as weird as anything from the early days of new wave. McCartney IIs opener and first single, Coming Up, wastes no time getting right into this startling territory, with a guitar part that could have been lifted from a Talking Heads song, buzzy keyboard hooks, and vocals that find McCartney singing through a filter and backing himself up with quirky falsetto. McCartneys discography is actually filled with strange little one-offs and experiments, including late-period work with Super Furry Animals and Fireman, but this one is unusual for the way he presented it as a central part of his output rather than a side project. Elsewhere on the album, McCartney remains similarly difficult to pigeonhole. If I told you the instrumental Front Parlour, with its tinny drum machine and sunny keyboard melody, was a 2009 blog hit by a lo-fi synth act, youd likely believe me. And then theres Temporary Secretary, a frankly irritating but still interesting song that combines frenzied synth programming with a self-consciously bizarre vocal-- McCartney sings as nasally as possible on the refrain, and tweaks it to sound robotic. Two other songs stand out on McCartney II, and theyre as distinct from each other as this record is from McCartney. Album closer One of These Days is simply great, benefiting from a rudimentary approach that strips away the synths and drum machines that dominate McCartney II. Bonus track Secret Friend, included on the second disc of the reissue, is also pretty jaw-dropping-- a 10-minute, beat-driven synth opus that shares plenty in common aesthetically with dance music a decade its junior. Parts of the album sound oddly current; its difficult to gauge whether McCartney II had any real influence on the synth-pop of the 80s, but its diffuse and slightly wobbly atmosphere certainly aligns with a great deal of recent music made on synths and drum machines. McCartney II represents an often-overlooked corner of McCartneys music, and it is well worth rediscovering... -Joe Tangari, Pitchfork
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 06:07:17 +0000
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