Thinking back, there was a definite clue as to where this record would be coming from when Mr. Coates produced the utterly inspired Bathtime in Clerkenwell, and accompanying video magic, to begin his last album I, Lucifer.  At the time it was less obvious, but it was the first real departure I’ve heard from his trademark dusty old gramophone cafe jazz, spiced with subtle electronica.  I, Lucifer was actually a literary project, designed to soundtrack the novel of the same name but by the time it was finished it was fair to say that Coates’ musical style had become quite static.  I loved it, don’t get me wrong, but he departed very little from his self-coined description of Antique Beat over the entire course of his first two records.

This all changes here.  Not drastically, as it is still very recognisably Coates’ work, but there is more pop, more flamboyantly written cabaret jazz and more… well, just everything.  He’s exploring; it’s more textured, more varied and consequently far more engaging.  The trumpet still has that squeaky thing firmly lodged in its end, the clarinets and accordions are all there, but it’s like they’ve lost their timidity and decided to see what they can do.

The modern parables of The Real Tuesday Weld are entirely intact, and the truly sparkling wit and wordplay we expect from their stuff are well and truly intact.  In the rudest of health I would actually say, as the liberation of the music has coincided with a loosening of the lyrical format, and there’s a bit more repartee in evidence.

Ultimately, I would say that earlier albums may have been something of a connoisseur’s choice, but with The London Book of the Dead, Coates seems to have hit his stride with zest.  His alter-ego The Clerkenwell Kid is still there, but he now seems more of a device to be called upon when wanted, rather than something to hide behind, which is how it occasionally seemed in earlier work.  Who knows if it will, but this album should make him famous.  There’s not been a more inventive or a more slyly playful pop record released all year if you ask me.  Superb.

The Real Tuesday Weld – The Decline & Fall of the Clerkenwell Kid
The Real Tuesday Weld – Kix

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