Chaz Jankel – The Submarine Has Surfaced

 

The Blockheads (Ian Dury's old band) have always been a bit of an anomaly on the UK music scene, taking their cues just as much from soul and jazz as from the pub rock scene they were birthed into. This album by chief Blockhead Chaz Jankel points up the dichotomy, juxtaposing strings, latin rhythms and a few foxy female vocals with observational lyrics more suited to a singer-songwriter in the John Cooper Clarke mode.

That's not to say it isn't worth a go, just that if you're anything like me you'll end up focusing on one or the other aspect, enjoying either the music or the deft way with words but not both at the same time. Jankel sings and is ably supported by a rhythm section plus strings, horns and the aforementioned female vocalists, of whom Natalia Scott deserves a mention. A jarring but not unpleasant listen then.