Peter Murphy Lion

Well, apart from drug busts, and nostalgia trips, what exactly is our man Peter Murphy good for, these days?
Well, for one, I use his name for comedy routines- I substitute "Peter Murphy" for "Charlie Murphy" and "Nick Cave" for "Rick James" to do riffs based upon Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood stories. But, that's not to say that I have no respect for him as an Artist, I just think his image is a bit too puffed up and melodramatic. So, believe it or not, his new LP is a fairly potent set of synth-infused post punk more in line with Killing Joke, than his somewhat fey mid 1990's solo work. The opening single, Hang Up, is minus only Geordie's apocalyptic guitar for being some kind of out-take from Killing Joke's Pandaemonium LP. Then, again, that makes sense, as Youth produced it. Yes, Murphy's voice has aged away from his baritone croon, but, much like Jaz, the weathering helps to convey passion. From there Tracks like "Eliza" and "I am my own Name" rock out in a Bowie-esque fashion, with tastes of fiery goth ( Sisters of Mercy style, with hints of industrial noise) and spooky experimentations  (ghosts of the Walker Brothers and Roxy Music) float through more than one moment on the LP, as on "Loctaine",  "Compression"  and "The Ghost of Shokan Lake" . How's this- "Low Tar Stars" is a thumping EDM-esque song that wouldn't have been out of place on Bowie's "Earthling". Only "Rose" and "Lion" really give in to sub Bowie histrionics. For Peter Murphy, that's not bad. So, yes, it's actually a fairly vital LP.