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Ed Harcourt seems destined for one of those long careers bringing out album after album that receives near universal praise and respect without ever really becoming a household name. Visit From The Dead Dog is the first foretaste of his fourth album The Beautiful Lie which looks set to be the usual quirky, oddly affecting work.
A jazzy piano riff opens the song, redolent of Ben Folds at times, before Harcourt's marvellously expressive voice tells a strange, macabre tale of a dead dog hiding at the end of the bed. Is it real? Is it imaginary? Is it a metaphor for depression, as in Churchill's famous description of a 'black dog at his shoulder'? Whatever it all means, it's nicely balanced by the sheer upbeat nature of the melody, which is relentlessy cheery even featuring a rather jaunty trumpet solo halfway through.
That other eccentric troubadour Graham Coxon also features, although he's restricted to a tasteful reverb effect rather than the incendiary punky solos he can usually throw out at will. It's an excellent return by a man who's quietly shaping up to be one of this country's finest songwriters.
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