WEIRD WAR Weird War (Domino)
Weird War is the latest project of Neil Hagerty (late of Pussy Galore, Royal Trux and, uh, Neil Michael Hagerty), here heard in the company of members of The Make-Up. And, perhaps not unexpectedly, it sounds very similar to practically every other album Neil Hagerty's been involved in. There's the elegantly debauched swagger of "Exile On Main St" Rolling Stones, possibly spiced with a little Alex Chiltonesque white-soulboy-on-self-destruct and a hint of outlaw funk. The sleaze quota is over in the red, as usual, as lines such as "Don't kiss me on the mouth/When you can kiss me anywhere" and "Pick up the phone and ball" attest. Light experimental touches such as the banjo outbreak on "Who's Who" and the title track's folk rock in a rainstorm keep this brief album pootling along nicely. And there's some impenetrable sleevenotes, ostensibly lifted from an interview conducted by Hype Hair magazine, that might repay careful study by those interested in learning more about the whole Weird War concept. (Some of the more lucid observations that bubble up include "The industry presented Punk in an attempt to frighten Jackson Browne" and "It is an historical fact that there were no Punk Rock Groups in Calcutta, although several came from Detroit", as well as an attempt to outline the anti-imperialist sentiments behind "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".) So, "Weird War" and Weird War are amiable enough, but don't really achieve much that the recent glut of Hagerty product hasn't already accomplished.