Bleep

In 1991, Julian Cope found himself at a crossroads. He was at odds with his label, struggling to get distribution for his records, and had become haunted by the spectre of 1988’s My Nation Underground, an LP he felt had failed to do him justice. Then came Peggy Suicide. Cope’s seventh album established him again as an alternative-rock luminary. Fusing a newfound interest in Neolithic and Pagan culture, animal rights, anti-Thatcherite politics and alternative spirituality, Cope’s trick is to fold these interests into some of the most ambitious songwriting of his career. The eighteen tracks of Peggy Suicide range from the Dylan-ised jangle of ‘Pristeen’ to the skronk-jazz of ‘You’, a song that beats King Krule to the punch by 25 years.