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Album Review: Baxter Dury - 'Happy Soup'
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Simple, but very effective

Album Review: Baxter Dury - 'Happy Soup'

8 / 10 A true cult hero, Baxter Dury’s third album is his most accomplished yet. Way more lo-fi than its excellent predecessors, ‘Happy Soup’ is so simple in its structure that it really shouldn’t work. But work it does, with tracks skimming from scratchy psychedelia (‘Afternoon’) to bare-boned ska, to the sumptuous, fall-down-the-stairs fuckery of ‘The Sun’.

As always, there’s a subtle element of Dury Snr (that London drawl, the seedy lyrics), but it’s the schoolgirl backing vocals of Madelaine Hart – sounding like she’s been beamed straight out of the 2-Tone stable – and Dury’s cracked realisation that “the monsoons of fear and age” are inescapable that cut through hardest here.

Matt Wilkinson

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Jun 08, 2012 19:00 Alexandra Palace Wood Green, London

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Oct 17, 2012 19:30 Scala London

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Oct 17, 2012 20:00 Scala London

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Oct 17, 2012 20:00 Scala London

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Buy Baxter Dury Tickets
from £65

External Reviews of Baxter Dury - Happy Soup
This Is Fake DIY / Reviews

This Is Fake DIY / Reviews: Baxter Dury - Happy Soup

"The darker side barely hidden beneath the surface is evident right from the start."

BBC Latest Rock & Indie Reviews

BBC Latest Rock & Indie Reviews: Baxter Dury - Happy Soup

"Dury’s third LP, after a six-year gap, perfectly balances the dark with the light."

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