PADDY HANNA has never been afraid to embrace the eccentric and off-kilter side of his creativity on his solo albums, and in Autre Monde songwriter Padraig Cooney, he has met a kindred spirit.
This is the debut album by the band, which also features Mark Chester and Eoghan O’Brien, and like Hanna's solo work, it is both odd and accessible, engaging yet puzzling.
The Imaginary Museum is suffused with a 1980s ambience and aesthetic, with lush, ambient synths ('The Operator' ); the clipped funk of the guitars; and bass driven grooves. 'On The Record' sounds as though it is about to launch into Cindy Lauper's 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun', and proves one of the catchiest, most uptempo moments on the album. It also features a sax solo - a key signifier of eighties pop, and a very knowing reference.
Eccentricity is never far from the surface. The muscular electro-rock of 'Brain Upon Your Pillow' ends with ethereal voices that are a clear nod to György Ligeti's 'Lux Aeterna' (so memorably used on the 'stargate' sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey ). The irresistible rhythms of 'Fever In May' features the strangest opening line of any Irish rock song: "I've got a dog who pisses/he was born in the pit of my stomach".
Yet, 'Three Mandolins' is exquisite, while closer 'Truly Growing' takes all the best elements of this record - forward momentum, danceable grooves, atmosphere, and a sense of the anthemic and euphoric, wraps them into just over four glorious minutes. There is much to admire on this album, but listeners also need to be open to its very determined, deliberate, oddness.
