As frontman for the glammy garage rock act
Cheap Time
, prolific songwriter/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist
Jeffrey Novak
has led his group through ceaseless touring and recording since its 2006 inception, churning out records on a regular basis and keeping the energy up with each new set of songs. In 2009,
Novak
released his comparatively more gentle and wispily psychedelic solo debut
After the Ball
, a collection of softer but still troubled melodies steeped in the courtly influence of outsider masters like
John Cale
and
Kevin Ayers
.
Lemon Kid
follows that album as well as the long-shelved
Baron in the Trees
, taking the glam stomp of
and folding it into the obtuse pomp and
Eno
-informed take on pop music of his earlier solo material. The album comes on strong with a few fuzzy garage songs before third track "Night for Day" starts to show signs of the glam/psych synthesis that makes
's solo work so interesting. Cloudy piano figures drive the songs, meeting up with
Bowie-esque
guitar leads and blurty synths on tracks like the minute-long "Unfinished Memory" and the jumpy wah-wah punk of "Losing Charm." All of the songs are delivered with
's hearty sneering vocals, pushing their would-be sensitive moments into uglier territory, somewhere between the earliest
Barrett
-era
Pink Floyd
,
Brian Eno
's first two rock records, and the most tuneful moments of
's late friend
Jay Reatard
. Title track "Lemon Kid" in particular borrows blatantly from
Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Floyd
. By the time standout track "Pictures on a Screen" rolls around, the album's brief song lengths and constant flow of different textures and beautifully mismatched sounds create a really nice and consistently fulfilling mood. The juxtaposition of anger and introspection is sweetened by stately pop hooks, and
showcases
's penchant for rapid-fire, high-potency melodies and lasting tunes, strong in the same way as contemporaries like
Ty Segall
Gap Dream
as well as the myriad of classic influences that spur the songs on. ~ Fred Thomas