Wild Billy Childish & CTMF – Acorn Man

“Always different, always the same,” as John Peel famously described his perennial faves The Fall, but only the latter is required to sum up Billy Childish. One hundred-plus albums have followed since The Pop Rivets’ 1979 debut, typically displaying a knack for imaginary Sonics riffs alongside a Bukowski-esque sense of artistic purity. Acorn Man continues to drag his garage clatter down ever-more rickety avenues, and in a fortuitous twist, it also happens to rank among his finest hours.

Former single Punk Rock Enough For Me is the centrepiece; a sprawling, bawling beat manifesto (Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, Star-Club-era Beatles and “a cup of tea” rank among the items to uphold the titular credo). It’s the dance numbers that’ll getcha though – A Flame From The Fen is all top-down groove and glorious chorus, while bassist Julie Hamper sneers snappily through the brilliant Zero Emission. With a blueprint this good, evolution seems an unnecessary extravagance. [Will Fitzpatrick]