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Turpsycore
Studio album by
Momus
Released3 March 2015
Length3:12:53[1]
LabelAmerican Patchwork (AMPATCH016)
Momus chronology
Bambi
(2013) 		Turpsycore
(2015) 		Glyptothek
(2015)

Turpsycore is a 2015 album by Scottish musician Momus. It was released on 3 March 2015 by independent record label American Patchwork on CD and distributed by Darla Records.

Background

For "Ultra-Loyal Sheepdog," Momus created "a simulacrum of Japanese stereotypes of English, notions of cuteness in Japan and notions of sheep [...] fascinated by the way sheep are portrayed (in Japan) — a land in which one never sees an actual sheep."[2]

Turpsycore is a triple album dedicated to music's "so-called 'eccentrics'." Two out of three of discs are cover versions of David Bowie and Magazine/the Buzzcocks' Howard Devoto.[3][4] The song "Ultra-Loyal Sheepdog" began as a Tumblr post in March 2014 when the musician wrote a biography on one of the characters in Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's "Mottai Night Land" video.[2]

The title is a deliberate misspelling of Terpsichore, the muse for joy and dance in Greek mythology.[2][5][6] Likewise, the name is a nod to turpentine and turpitude.[7] Also relating to Greek mythology, Momus is the god of mockery and blame.[5]

The color palette is a reference to Greece's polychrome technique.[7] His later album Glyptothek was published in the same year.[5] Songs from Turpsycore and from other 2000s albums Bambi, Bibliotek, and Glyptothek were recollected in the Cherry Red Records anthology Public Intellectual.[8]

Production

The content of the first disc was originally published by Sony Music Japan.[9] The second and third discs of Turpsycore were recorded at the "cabaret concerts" in London's Cafe Oto in September 2014.[7] The cover is designed by Hagen Verleger.[9][6] It was nominated by the German Design Council for the German Design Award.[6]

Reception

Bristol's Cube Microplex staff called Turpsycore "a triple disc spectacular."[3] The Japan Times's Devon Fisher commented "[Momus] pays proper tribute to the artists — some famous, some less so — who, like him in his Shibuya-kei days, brought a more literate, worldly and bizarre perspective to the realm of popular culture, refusing to stagnate or get 'over-familiar and over-sold.'"[2] Zitty's Thorsten Glotzmann said it was "thoroughly enigmatic and bizarre - overloaded with literary, film-historical and pop-cultural references."[5]

Heathen Harvest staff reviewed it favorably stating "A good Momus album plus a two bonus discs of off-kilter covers of David Bowie and Howard Devoto songs. What’s not to like about it?"[10] PopMatters's Dave Heaton remarked the album was "a truly eccentric three-disc set."[11] CDM's Peter Kirn called the Bowie disc "unsurprising" but the Devoto covers "were just what I (didn’t know I) needed – a set of songs tackling sexual ambiguity and anxiety from a singer who was born to play the part."[4]

Track listing

Turpsy
No.TitleLength
1."Bathyscaphe"2:27
2."System of Usher"3:28
3."The Dowser"3:02
4."The Boy Camille"3:23
5."The Hiker"3:00
6."Cameo"3:05
7."The Brutalist"2:57
8."Ultra-Loyal Sheepdog"2:54
9."The Spider"2:39
10."The Painter"3:02
11."Catholic App"4:06
12."Unreconstructed"3:33
13."Following"3:51
14."Spore"4:02
15."The Driver"3:59
16."The Hate Horse"2:20
17."Foxy Little Otter"2:12
Dybbuk
No.TitleLength
1."The Bewlay Brothers"5:18
2."Joe the Lion"3:30
3."Be My Wife"3:04
4."African Night Flight"2:46
5."Sweet Thing"6:23
6."DJ"4:27
7."Time"3:47
8."Lady Grinning Soul"3:57
9."Love Is Lost"3:35
10."Ashes to Ashes"4:29
11."Candidate"5:06
12."Conversation Piece"3:45
13."The Drowned Girl"2:27
14."Letter to Hermione"3:33
15."Uncle Arthur"2:11
16."Where Are We Now?"4:23
17."Absolute Beginners"4:51
18."Life on Mars"3:53
Harvard
No.TitleLength
1."Motorcade"5:26
2."Cut-Out Shapes"4:34
3."Because You're Frightened"3:57
4."Upside Down"3:56
5."Back to Nature"6:36
6."Lady 21"3:33
7."Pound"4:35
8."Rainy Season"4:57
9."Ticket"3:47
10."Philadelphia"3:31
11."You Never Knew Me"5:21
12."Friends of Mine"3:22
13."Parade"5:00
14."Of Course Howard"4:47
15."Smoking Mirror"3:48

References

  1. ^ "Turpsycore - Momus". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Fisher, Devon (10 March 2015). "Momus honors music's eccentrics on 'Turpsycore'". The Japan Times. Nifco. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b Cube Microplex staff (18 April 2015). "Cube: Momus". Cube Microplex. cubecinema.com. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b Kirn, Peter (4 January 2016). "Here's the best 2015 music we'll have on repeat in 2016". CDM. GmbH. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Glotzmann, Thorsten (4 April 2015). "Momus, the eternal mocker". Zitty (in German). GCM Go City Media GmbH. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Musicworks staff (21 January 2016). "MW Questionnaire: NICK CURRIE". Musicworks. Musicworks Society of Ontario. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Verleger, Hagen (12 July 2015). "Momus: Turpsycore on Behance". Behance. Adobe Systems. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  8. ^ Cherry Red Records staff. "Pubic Intellectual: An Anthology 1986-2016 – Cherry Red Records". Cherry Red Records. cherryred.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  9. ^ a b Memories of Shibuya staff (7 January 2015). "Momus's Turpsycore packaging revealed". Memories of Shibuya. WordPress. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  10. ^ Heathen Harvest staff (31 December 2015). "Heathen Harvest's Best of 2015: Artist's Edition". Heathen Harvest. heathenharvest.org. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  11. ^ Heaton, Dave (1 December 2015). "The Best Indie Pop of 2015". PopMatters. Sarah Zupko. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
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