If Richard Hawley was more psychedelic story-weaver than twilight troubadour, or if Robyn Hitchcock had been separated at birth from an equally daft twin, they would be the Jazz Butcher, a.k.a. eccentric English singer/songwriter Pat Fish plus whomever he happened to have around since 1982.
Back in the day, that list of contributors included Max Eider, David J (Bauhaus, Love And Rockets) and Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom, among others. Last Of The Gentleman Adventurers finds Fish reuniting with several of these trusted wingmen in service of recording/touring again after more than a decade out of the game, reissuing a self-pressed, limited-edition disc originally created to quietly celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary. Memorable melodies, lyrical yearning and stylistic elasticity (from the title track’s cowpoke jazz-blues to the trebly Lloyd Cole-like guitar pop of “All The Saints”) makes this band of merry men worthy of rediscovery, the same as they ever were.
—Corey duBrowa
