{"id":68168,"date":"2021-03-08T16:55:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T16:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=68168"},"modified":"2021-03-12T19:18:25","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T19:18:25","slug":"review-of-song-of-co-aklan-by-cathal-coughlan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/03\/review-of-song-of-co-aklan-by-cathal-coughlan\/","title":{"rendered":"RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL – ‘Song of Co-Aklan’ Sees Microdisney’s Cathal Coughlan Back With A Vengeance On His First Solo Album In 10 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cathal Coughlan has always been one of rock\u2019s outliers.<\/h4>\n

Operating from the fringes, he\u2019s been a wry and frequently abrasive commentator on society and politics for 40 years now.<\/h4>\n

Now he\u2019s back with \u00a0Song of Co-Aklan<\/em><\/strong>, an album that sees him doing what he does best, popping his head above the parapet to take pot shots at well chosen targets.<\/p>\n

Corporate greed, casual cruelty towards migrants and corrupt politicians are all given a pasting, but there\u2019s more here than just righteous anger.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a sense of reflection in several of the songs, of ennui, of loss and feeling lost among the pressures of modern life and irresistible march of dispassionate, dislocating technology.<\/p>\n

The pandemic rears its ugly ahead, but Coughlan is more interested in how we got ourselves into this mess than in the disease itself.<\/p>\n

Loosely based around the persona of Co-Aklan, a classic unreliable narrator, the 12 songs here reflect Coughlan\u2019s past career as frontman with Microdisney <\/strong>and The Fatima Mansions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Members of both bands feature on the record – notably Microdisney co-writer Sean O\u2019Hagan – along with more recent collaborators like Luke Haines<\/strong>, of The Auteurs<\/strong> and Black Box Recorder<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In an interview<\/strong> <\/span><\/a>with EP <\/strong>last month, <\/strong>Coughlan cheerfully describes himself as \u201codd\u201d and explains how he avoids straightforward storytelling.<\/p>\n

\"Cathal
Not your average Joe – ex-Microdisney and Fatima Mansions frontman Cathal Coughlan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both qualities are in evidence on Song of Co-Aklan<\/em>, which is both strange and touching in roughly equal measure.<\/p>\n

Clearly Coughlan\u2019s brain works in a slightly different way to the average Joe and you can almost hear his synapses crackling as he makes connections across time and geography.<\/p>\n

Surreal characters and imagery – a lobster climbing up a crystal palace, for example – populate these songs and, while it\u2019s not always immediately obvious what he\u2019s going on about, repeated listens will be rewarded.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a real pleasure to listen to a genuine writing talent who’s prepared to challenge his audience, rather than idly reaching for a rhyming dictionary.<\/p>\n

While his lyrics often expose the monstrous and unsavoury sides of society, they are wrapped in a subtle and elegant musical package.<\/p>\n

Luxurious strings add drama to songs like My Child Is Alive!<\/strong><\/em>, while the title track draws you in with sumptuous choruses before the lyrics smack you in the face.<\/p>\n

There are hints of Fatima Mansions in the post punk guitars of St Wellbeing Axe<\/em><\/strong>, while the brooding, funereal second single Owl In the Parlour<\/em><\/strong> has shades of Nick Cave<\/strong>.<\/p>\n