Gut Gut hails from Toulon, France, and this is his second album of 2020. I'm not familiar with much of his earlier work, but this album sounds a lot like David Bowie playing Captain Beefheart songs. That is, his vocals are highly reminiscent of the erstwhile Ziggy, and the songs caterwaul through grungy blues, proggy existentialism and other incongruent sounds.

Gut Gut Delice'M (Dr Johns Surgery Records)

He does claim Zappa as an influence, but his playing and production style (at least on this set) are much rougher. The polymathic approach to composition and arrangement certainly fit, though.

While these songs are largely conceptual, they connect easily on the visceral plane. The vocals are often laid in the same range as the noise, and sometimes they're hard to hear clearly. So the music has to do the heavy lifting, and it does so with ease.

A strikingly original album. I didn't know Gut Gut before hearing this, but I think it's time to go back and hear what I've missed. If that stuff blisters my ears half as much as this set, I'll be blown away. Grab hold and don't let go.

Jon Worley