In my review of 'Focus on Nature' (2024), I wrote: ”Like Julian Cope, [Nick] Saloman follows his own personal muse and trusts that enough will tune into his eccentric wavelength.” Ditto for this latest release which displays the same level of contrariness, commitment and consistency of all his albums.
‘Horrorful Heights’ is a quite brilliant addition to his impressive back catalogue and contains the passion and purpose of a man half his age.
It’s his wholesome disregard for modern trends that is particularly admirable. Mentally and musically, he hasn’t ventured far beyond the 1980s but it will be entirely your loss if you dismiss this as pale nostalgia trip.
Recorded with long-time drummer Dave Pearce, guitarist Paul Simmons and new bassist Louis Wiggett this record takes righteous retro to fresh heights.
With 20 songs and an hour a half’s worth of of top-rate music, Saloman remains as prolific and profound as ever. No fillers here.
As if this this wasn’t enough, there is also a companion release ‘Horrorful Offal’ - a collection of outtakes available as part of a deluxe edition only available via Rough Trade and Fire Records.
The longest track is Space Age Eyes, almost ten minutes of unapologetic psychedelic jamming. The shortest song, Quietly, clocks in at just over two minute in which he issues the invite “Come with me and I’ll play you vinyl from the East” and sings with a forlorn nervousness that is not a million miles from Robert Wyatt at his most wistful.
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Countrified pedal steel can be heard on Momma Bear and Best Laid Plans. The latter charts the demise of a marriage between a “cock of the walk” and a “belle of the ball”
The album begins with the strident riffery of A Mess of Stress and ends with King For A Day in which he imagines a brief commercial breakthrough that sees him appearing on Top of the Pops and playing with Johnny Marr. In reality he is destined to be crowned only by those tuned into well below the mainstream radar.
One of the many standouts is entitled That’s Your Lot in which Soloman sings ominously “I don’t know how long I’ve got”,
Pray that this is not his swansong just yet because on this showing, he is just getting started.
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