Brian Hooper: Trouble
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Brian Hooper: Trouble

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If you look at Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings with a suitable level of biographical insight, you can discern the trajectory of Van Gogh’s life. Early in his career Van Gogh’s images are clean and neat; toward the end of his life, Van Gogh’s brush strokes are as frenetic and intense as the syphilitic thoughts plaguing his mind. Sans syphilis, a similar observation can be made with just about any artist, whether the medium is paint, sculpture, poetry, prose or song.

Former Surrealists and Beasts Of Bourbon bass player Brian Hooper is another case in point – Hooper’s first record Lemon, Lime And Bitter reflected Hooper’s then-troubled and resentful state of mind. By his next record, The Problem With Women, Hooper was trying to make sense of the world he’d found himself in – and his own role in the construction of that world.

Hooper’s latest record Trouble finds Hooper in a period of reflection. On the title track he lays his emotional and personal failings naked for the world to see. On Wasting Away, Hooper offers a critical assessment of his own situation ­– struggling to right the almost sinking ship. On Promise To Myself, Hooper stares into the mirror of self-analysis and attempts to stare down temptation. The crescendo of Tragedy builds like a grudge waiting to explode into violent rhetorical explosion.

Musically, Trouble is a quantum leap from Hooper’s previous records. The production – courtesy of Mick Harvey – is crisp and full. Hooper’s voice has bucked the natural trend of age; on What The Hell Was I Thinking (with its shades of You Can’t Always Get What You Want) and Take My Money, Hooper packs the vocal punch of David Bowie at the height of his Ziggy fame. Hooper’s supporting cast – including Jo Brockman and Angus Boyle from James McCann’s Dirty Skirt Band, Steve Boyle on piano and a rotating cast of guest players (Penny Ikinger, Spencer P Jones and Charlie Owen) – provides the necessary musical punch to mirror Hooper’s intense lyrical journey.

For all the catharsis and emotional purging on Trouble, it’s tracks such as the rocking Stronger and the brutally stark and threatening I Get Up Again, that provide the most significant window into the modern world of Brian Hooper. Hooper has been down and out with the best and worst of them. But he’s up again, fighting and making some very good music. All power to him.