I'm here to tell you that "Vacuous", from the new Babybird album, Happy Stupid Nothing, is one of the best things that Stephen Jones has ever written. I'm also here to tell you that that long-player is a bit too long. Still, as a reminder of the genius of Stephen Jones, the release remains highly recommended.
Along with the aforementioned "Vacuous", other real highlights here on Happy Stupid Nothing are "King of Nothing" and "I Am Not Done", both fairly direct rockers. Stephen Jones can command real power with this sort of material, his voice and lyrics meshing as a perfect weapon. The far less successful numbers here are the selections, like "I Am Not Here" and a few even longer ones, where Jones sounds like he's a prisoner of the studio, the production effects overpowering whatever germ of an idea he had originally started with. Still, for an artist who's this prolific, and generous with big hooks, one feels churlish almost for highlighting the things I didn't like here.
Happy Stupid Nothing has more than enough Babybird material on it, but there's enough here that is superbly written and perfectly performed, to recommend this record highly. Fans of his old hits and his more recent material should find lots to love on this epic offering.
More details on Babybird and Happy Stupid Nothing via the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited Bandcamp pic]