WHO ARE THEY? The ridiculously prolific English singer-guitarist — who is also a painter, writer, poet, photographer, filmmaker, rabble-rouser, iconoclast and all-around shit-disturber when he isn’t making music with his bandmates du jour.
WHAT IS THIS? The umpteen-zillionth album of lo-fi, bare-knuckle garage-punk, surf-rock and indie-pop nuggets he has released since he began recording four decades ago — and his sixth offering in seven years with his latest trio CTMF (which stands for Chatham Forts, Copyright TerMination Front, something completely different or perhaps nothing at all, depending on who and what you decide to believe).
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? There’s an old saying: If you’ve heard one Billy Childish album, you’ve heard them all. There’s some truth to that. But even if he is making the same record over and over, at least it’s a damn good one.
WHAT WOULD BE A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS ALBUM? Still Childish After All These Years.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? On a broken boombox you either found in the trash or shoplifted from a pawn shop.
WHAT 10 WORDS DESCRIBE IT? Scrappy, noisy, ragged, gritty, unrefined, crunchy, raucous, snide, ramshackle, uncompromising.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? Childish songs come in two basic varieties: Louder and faster or softer and slower. Highlights in the former category include You Can’t Capture Time, The Darkness Was On Me, The Happy Place and the title cut. On the flip side: It Hurts Me Still, You’re The One I Idolise, I Can Recall it All and She Didn’t Know Everything Was Available.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY? ‘You’d think after making more than 100 albums, he’d have learned to sing and play guitar.’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO THIS? Childish discs are always good for a few spins — at least until he makes another one.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE A MOVIE, WHAT KIND OF MOVIE WOULD IT BE? A black-and-white kitchen-sink drama from the 1960s.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL? He would probably want you to steal it, but you should buy it anyway.
