Bleep

Late home-taper Gary Cook gets a compilation release in his honour. Curated by his brother, the lovingly compiled The Fabulous World Of Gary Cook demonstrates the unique style of this idiosyncratic songwriter. Through a fog of grainy distortion many of these tracks combine doomy post-punk in the Joy Division style with Cook’s gentle, sensitive vocals and the occasional bit of sampling. Elsewhere Cook goes for tender balladry (‘Paranoid Bachelors’), while sometimes he throws caution to the wind and comes through with a maximalist synth-pop winner (‘Spencer Place’, ‘Somerset Water’). A fitting tribute to a talented artist.