Creep Show: Mr Dynamite review – John Grant and Wrangler jam ain’t got the funk

Creep Show unites alternative rock chevalier John Grant with the analogue electronics of the band Wrangler for a set of batty experimental pop and surrealist funk jams.

Here’s the thing, though: while many of the sounds and flavours here are recognisable as being that of the funk genre – the fat basslines, the wild vocal styles – the music here just isn’t that funky. I’m talking about James Brown funky. Prince funky. George Clinton, gonna-tear-the-roof-off-the-mother-sucker funky. Or something like that.

That's not to say that Mr Dynamite is totally worthless. The wobbly, whacky electronic soundscapes of Modern Parenting and Endangered Species recall Beck's Prince-worshipping synth-funk album Midnite Vultures. The title track draws from the Purple One's own experimental tinkering with voice-altering tech, and even features his trademark knocking drum sounds.

Elsewhere, Tokyo Metro beeps and blips as though teased from a hacked Gameboy, while Lime Ricky pulses like Afrika Bambaataa's old school hip-hop voyages.

So though Mr Dynamite probably won't get dance floors popping off, it's still a solid showcase of Grant and co's oddball eclecticism. johngrantmusic.com