Chris Dooks - The Aesthetic Animals Album
[Benbecula]

The work of a former TV director, video artist, photographer, 'sound terrorist' and all round eccentric, Chris Dooks' 'The Aesthetic Animals Album' will surely qualify as one of the strangest releases of 2008.

Featuring ten tracks based around the concepts of varying animals, incorporating the swan, the fox and the human male amongst others, Dooks offers a lesson in melodic storytelling that few could match. His style revolves around peculiar guitar and piano arrangements, in tandem with subtle production touches and animal sounds, and a vocal style that reminds of Gruff Rhys suffering heavily with a severe dose of the cold.

The frankly hilarious 'The Manatee', a Jackanory style pastiche detailing a 677 pound female Manatee and an unfortunate incident with a water park shoot, is an imaginative and brilliant highlight. It’s 'The Mouse', though, that steals the show with its timeless mix of the children's rhyme 'hickory dickory dock' and gorgeous piano. Highly recommended.

Tracklisting:

1. The Swan
2. The Penguin
3. The Mouse
4. The Dog
5. The Human Male
6. The Salmon
7. The Salamander
8. The Finch
9. The Fox
10. The Manatee (Short Story)