This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
With his avant-garde sensibilities and neo-classical background, John Cale helped put the underground in The Velvet Underground.
Since then, aside from the occasional brief feint towards pop-rock commerciality, the singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist hasn’t raised his public profile much. But he hasn’t lowered his standards either, as evinced by HoboSapiens, his latest artful and eclectic offering. With a dozen superbly crafted, richly textured art-rock cuts topped by Cale’s darkly smooth croon, HoboSapiens takes sonic risks without sacrificing musical accessibility, ultimately striking a near-perfect balance somewhere between the sound of followers and acolytes like Eno, David Byrne, Roxy Music — along with The VU, natch. Bottom line: Cale may never make it out of the underground — but that doesn’t mean he’s an underachiever.
