JOHN CALE - POPtical Illusion 2LP (colour vinyl)

Limited edition neon orange colour vinyl.

John Cale's raging powers of Mercy come through on POPtical Illusion too, a call to arms against cultural discredit.

Erroneous it was, in hindsight, to write John Cale off after the excellent Mercy release. It made sense to do so. The Velvet Underground alumni hit a late-stage stride and provided a bounty of last-gasp career bests in a moody effort featuring Weyes Blood and Animal Collective. It is perhaps his flirtations with pop artists and current, rising musicians like Sylvan Esso and Tei Shi which influenced POPtical Illusion. Cale heads back into the daring depths of his art rock standards, providing a tonal dissonance not too dissimilar to the breathy intensities of David Byrne. POPtical Illusion feels like a grace period for Cale. His grasp on pop music is different to ours. He is likely not watching galvanised steel square TikToks while lying in the dark. No, he is far too productive for that and instead sets out with comfortable and challenging art rock flickers.