Alexander Tucker - Custom Made

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 22 / 6 / 2008

Label: All Tomorrow's Parties
Format: 7" X2

intro

Just partially successful limited edition double EP from experimental singer-songwriter Alexander Tucker

This limited edition double 7” from British-based experimental singer-songwriter Alexander Tucker is part of ATP Recordings Custom Made series and is restricted to just 1000 copies. The four songs on this double 7” (which is also available as a digital download) are ‘Phantom Rings’ which is a new recording of a song that Alexander Tucker first introduced on his ‘Old Fog’ album in 2005, Tucker chose to re-record this song as he wanted a version available that represents the way he plays the song live. The second song is ‘Veins To The Sky’ and is pulled from Tucker's new album ‘Portal’(reviewed elsewhere) and the third cut is ‘Rodeo In The Sky’ which is a song originally recorded by Fursaxa apparently which is a new name to me and the strongest song in this double pack. The closing song, ‘Florence Blue’, quite frankly rates as the most uninteresting ‘song’ out of the four tracks on this double pack and I’m not surprised it didn’t make the selection for the new album. Tucker is an acquired taste for sure ; there is a limited appeal to his dreamy, psychedelic folk tinged offerings and I’m the first to understand why his spaced out repetitive drones can irritate as much as appeal and with ‘Florence Blue’ I’d have a hard time trying to convince anyone that it was a good song. It’s dreary and the layers of sound just build up a noise around what must rate as Tucker’s most uninspired vocals to date. It’s a tuneless drone which sounds like the kind of thing a sixteen year old would make in his bedroom on a wet and windy day and competently ruins the beauty of the three songs that precede it. ‘Phantom Rings’ in contrast is the exact opposite of that closing song, the layers of sound accentuate another one of Tucker’s trademark quirky yet haunting melodies and his high pitched vocals just add to the atmosphere. This double package opens with the best of Alexander Tucker and ends with the worst.

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