Slithering through psychedelic noir and angular post-punk, Ain’t No Fool is an adventurous 15-track effort from NYC-based The Mortal Prophets. The project of John Beckmann fuses catchy bass lines, psychedelic vocal quirks, and spoken-word irony into a lean, dark, and witty collection of excellent songwriting.
Opening track “I Am Your Lover” gets the release underway memorably, pairing “lost in your eyes” smitten accounts with swells of flickering guitars and an eerie, carnival-like effect. The album’s title track is another gem, delectable in its dark soundscape and debonair spoken ruminations. Foreboding bass and droning guitar effects combine with “she only wants my money” lyrical perspectives, moving with late-night post-punk mystique as sludgy low-end combines with further musings on how “she’s got her eyes on diamonds and my shiny brand new car.” Intriguing, Lynchian-like vocal processing follows, furthering the immersive atmosphere.
The rest of the album continues to delight, spanning from the twanging, more bouncing approachability of “By The Sea” to the album finale, “Cherry Shine”—a rhythm-first production set within spoken-word observations, resembling a cross of The Velvet Underground and an understated The Fall. Ain’t No Fool is another inventive full-length success from The Mortal Prophets, who have also caught our ears in the past with a variety of stellar releases, including GUITARWORKS II and the UNDER THE INFLUENCE EP.
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“Ain’t No Fool” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
