VANITY SET - Little Stabs Of Happiness

Jim Sclavunos is a grim, emaciated and refined gentleman. The slums of his no-wave past haven't stripped away his taste, nor have they withered his decadent yet fascinating aesthetic by much.

After the turmoil of 8 Eyed Spy, alongside the sulphurous Lydia Lunch, and the smoky, desolate introspection of the Birthday Party, in 1994 he went solo for long enough to put together his small but whimsical orchestra, sophisticated enough to be ironically named The Vanity Set. The ensemble, alongside the traditional bass-guitar-drums setup, reshuffled with keyboards and percussion, gains just the right touch of grace and surrealism from the violin-theremin-tuba triad.

The self-titled 2000 debut shows the first glimmers of an identity taking shape, one that, five years on, presents itself with far more confidence on "Little Stabs Of Happiness", a happiness that's almost tipsy and theatrical, uneven and punctuated by sudden noir-tinged regrets. The opener ("The Big Bang") catapults us into a gothic scene that suddenly opens up into a solemn crescendo like the showstopping moment of a musical; right after, the electric can-can of the title track unleashes bursts of adrenaline, carried through the air by an exuberant violin.

The tuba introduces and accompanies the inspired, languid "I Started A Joke", while the theremin sinuously follows the lost, wandering vocals of "Some Little Birds", a small, autumnal drama.

Towards the end, the stage is set for a piece halfway between Brechtian intensity and the paradoxes of the theatre of the absurd, on whose stage Jim wanders, singing his thoughts with emphasis, delighted by the gentle violin ("Morning Glory Day").

Closing things out is an unexpected, if not improbable, techno round dance on vocoder ("The Bell Song"), a captivating act of delirium from the seasoned gentleman, who, between the lines, thanks his friend Cave for the experience, the muse behind the cavernous vocals, here revisited and reworked by a less tormented spirit.

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19/07/2007