The Real Tuesday Weld | Happy Hatter Christmas EP

Delusions of Adequacy
The Real Tuesday Weld: Happy Hatter Christmas EP
by Adrian
December 2014
 

Whilst ultimately Happy Hatter Christmas is predominantly a fans-centric affair, its bespoke mixture of randiness, mischief, romance, pathos and intrigue makes for one of the best off-piste releases in The Real Tuesday Weld’s maze-like discography.  Here’s hoping that next year’s full-length return carries-over some of its bottled-up charms.

"Hey Miss Policeman” opens proceedings with a laidback reclamation of Coates’ original antique beat sound (which has been filched by TV advertising soundtrack composers the world over) but also with a wry look back to lusty innuendo-laced Real Tuesday Weld songs like “(I’m Still In Love With) Paula Wilcox” and “Deep Sea Diving.”  In its wake comes the wordless “Cheshire Love Cat Blues,” which playfully demolishes and reconstructs The Cure’s similarly-titled song with sprightly bass-led electro-funk.  The midpoint of the EP brings the fragrantly forlorn “Forsaken,” a more organically-built ballad (sung by one third of The Puppini Sisters), before segueing smoothly into a plaintively prowling and twinkling take on ABBA’s melancholic twilight years single “The Day Before You Came” (voiced by Coates).  The collection rounds off beatifically with the spooky “It,” with Coates’ hushed vocal narrative weaving in/around retro-futuristic synth layers to imagine a lost score to a dystopian seventies sci-fi TV serial.    READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE