The latest from Nick Nicely is a 4-song vinyl single from Fruits de Mer. 49 Cigars was originally the flip side to Nick’s 1982 Hilly Fields and opens this new 7″ (an earlier FdM single featured Hilly Fields). It’s a beautifully crafted 60s styled Pop-Psych song that smacks of Arnold Layne and includes lots of Tomorrow Never Knows styled effects and general freakiness. We’re also treated to a live version that’s about twice as long and much heavier acid freakout Psych rocking. Wow, I’d love to hear the entire show this was taken from.
The other two songs are very much in the spirit of the experimentalism that characterized Nick’s 2014 Space Of A Second album. Well… one, Lobster Dobbs, is from that album. Belinda is a totally spaced out Pop-Psych tune that takes all kinds of wild twists and turns as it roams from accessible song to avant-garde surrealism. Lobtser Dobbs is similar, being a cool and strange blend of song and wigged out lysergic freakiness. I like the groovy Jazz flavor, though the song ends too quickly and abruptly. Consider this my wishlist request for Nick to flesh the song out a bit more on an upcoming album.
The single is scheduled for release in September. For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz