D'Animal: Hedonistic Pillow (Thokei Tapes/digital outlets)

Elsewhere has sometimes had an affection for amusing band names and album titles like this one, a play on Jefferson Airplanes' Surrealistic Pillow.

It may be irrational but it can lead you to an artist you might otherwise gone past or not even heard of. That explains an album by Manchester's Jefferson Airhead in our collection.

In this case after the amused smile faded we were into the world of the little known American singer/songwriter, multi-multi-instrumentalist and self-starter Dan West who – research tells me – has recorded in just about every genre imaginable from out-there jazz to folk and punk.

He has recorded under many names and these songs were done between 2015 and 2020.

With a band, West tears off great pop, power-pop (check the opener Falipa about his cat), dreamy pop (I Wish I Knew), drops in some humour (the serious-sounding ballad ADD is about having ADHD) and on material like the acerbic but bouncy Hollywood Moment gives better-known artists like Lemon Twigs a run for their money when it comes to tapping classic pop sources.

The jaunty character study of Jethro sounds like it has escaped from a early Seventies folk-rock concept album, New Century from a darker concept record and Torn Up Pieces of Paper is late Sixties psychedelic lolli-pop.

You get the impression from the sheer diversity and casual tossing off of songs here that – like Todd Rundgren – D'Animal/West is profligate with his genius and that these are just collected off-cuts from an artist who deserves some serious exploration to unearth his real vein of creativity.

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Check him and his vast catalogue out here

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here where it is also available on cassette through Thokei Tapes.

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For more on Thokei Tapes releases of New Zealand and international artists at Elsewhere go here