Freeze Puppy

July
Sat 25th	Bristol	Arnolfini, Dark studios 4pm
Sat 25th	Bristol	Arnolfini, Dark Studios 8pm
August
Thu 2nd	Cheltenham	The Vine

Freeze Puppy aka Tom Wilson is an astonishing songsmith and performer from Knowle with a life-affirming live show. His hugely entertaining music often bewilders first time listeners with its audacity and singular otherness but his dreamy pop sensibility keeps people coming back for more. Kindred spirits include Daniel Johnston, Micachu and Ariel Pink. Initial exposure to Freeze Puppy reveals a mass of contradictions: sumptuously recorded instrumentation sits side-by-side general midi drum sounds, classic pop hooks get skewed by irregular meter, and delightful harmonies crash into searing dissonance... all densely packed into one and a half minute song. His non-stop kinetic live shows leave you marvelling how something so complex can be so addictive. For this is screwy pop music, at once cerebral and accessible, always leaving you wanting more.

There are no obvious precedents for Freeze Puppy, although Tom counts as influences pan-generational British guitar pop from The Beatles to Blur, Broadway musicals, songcraft standard-bearers like Scott Walker, Bacharach and Brian Wilson, Zimbabwean mbira players and Sardinian folk music... but influences these remain. Since Qu first heard him in the early noughties we were struck by the single-minded originality of his music, combined with the honesty of his delivery - a rare thing indeed. Over the course of 4 albums he has honed his sound, finding his voice as a vocalist/lyricist in the process.

New album 'Animation' is a masterpiece. Three years in the making and clocking in at a more-ishly bite-sized 23 minutes, it is unfathomably paced and unlike anything else. It gives you heart thrills, and like Ray Davies on peak form is full of unnerving honesty and insights, the kind of outsider pop moments that John Peel would have cherished. It seems natural that a label such a Pickled Egg (The Go Team/Scatter/Fulborn Teversham) has picked up on his music, giving him the distribution to the world.

His live shows are always an event. Arts galleries, cinemas, folk clubs, festivals and live art happenings have been bewitched by his unique performance style and perfectly sequenced sets. Best know for his highly charged one man electric shows (where Tom takes care of vocal duties, guitar and electronics), he also plays intimate and acoustic, or with the assistance of tactile free drummer Jan (ex-Safetyword) – deftly reworking Freeze Puppy favourites and obscurities and always casting new light on his songs. Devendra Banhart, The Necks, Field Music, Jamie Lidell, all have been bowled over by his performances and give a clue to his broad appeal.