WK AOK

○○○○●

I HAVE been enjoying the new Andrew WK release Close Calls With Brick Walls on many levels - but mostly full volume.
Before the metal music can even be considered, first the man needs a mention - WK has been relentlessly accused of being a puppet persona created by either a mysterious svengali named Steev Mike, or a committee of record industry types and family members, leading him to issue a statement last year saying: "I am a real person who thinks for himself."
This has tended to overshadow the actual work of WK, which tends to be written off as singles like Party Hard and Party 'Til You Puke.
But this enigmatic LP, previously only released in Japan and Korea, has so much more to offer than nosebleed-inducing party anthems - although I Want To See You Go Wild covers that base nicely.
There's glam stomps like Pushing Drugs, the Meat Loaf and Muse-esque epics like You Will Remember Tonight, delicate piano interludes like Dr Dumont, the showbiz pomp of Las vegas, Nevada, there's so much to enjoy.
And it's all so ridiculous and overblown - laughable, even - but true to his mysterious form, after listening over and over I still don't know whether I'm laughing at him, we're both in on it, or whether the joke's on me...