Keith Top Of The Pops & His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band – Fuck You! I'm Keith Top Of The Pops

Clearly saturated in ramshackle influences such as Half Man Half Biscuit, The Fall and Carter USM (who feature here), Keith TOTP can't quite shake off the conviction that he might be a serious acoustic balladeer. Sentimental musings do, at least, provide a contrast with the hit and miss attempts at comedy. As whimsical commentaries on the minutiae of contemporary life go, the aforementioned HMHB had the kind of thing on offer here nailed years ago. With much funnier results.

 

Superfluous layers of doodling guitar serve only to obscure the vocals on Girl and Call Me. If there is a sharp comic voice at work here, it is lost in the murky production. Keith TOTP's formula is simply this: think of a title like Two Of The Beatles Are Dead or I Hate Your Band, add predictable chord sequences and lazy strumming, and shout the song name a few times for a chorus. Frustrating stuff.