Jehovahkill

Personnel: Julian Cope (guitars, bass); Donald Ross Skinner (keyboards, bass); Rooster Cosby (drums, saxophone).
Additional personnel: Doggen, Hugoth Nicolson (guitars); Tom Nicolson (harmonica); Shaun Harvey, Dr. Fiorella Terenzi.
Producers: Donald Ross Skinner, Julian Cope.
JEHOVAHKILL continues--and refines--Julian Cope's crusade to make music safe for acid-damaged intellectuals. This time out, his main target is the reclamation of pagan ideals and symbolism appropriated by Christianity--when was the last time you listened to a pop-rock album with goals as extravagant as that? Cope's ultimate brilliance is that he is able take concepts such as this and render them in a manner that is hard to take offense at. Whether you agree with him or not, the songs are gentle, catchy statements of their author's beliefs, never preachy and always shot through with just enough psychedelic weirdness to keep the experience musically arresting.
Standouts include the opening track, "Soul Desert," which sneakily prepares listeners for the combination of musical styles that will follow; the simple acoustic guitar and vocal combination (along with the occasional cymbal and synthesizer squelch) of "Up-wards at 45" that builds to a full-on rock freak-out; and the redemption and joy of "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fine." Though perhaps not the best place to begin with Cope's catalogue--neophytes should investigate the FLOORED GENIUS compilation--JEHOVAHKILL is a excellent example how Cope and his band can incorporate everything from funk, punk, surf, and neo-techno into 70 startlingly original minutes.