CROOKED MAN Vinyl & CDs

Review: Vicious Charm Recordings makes its vinyl bow with a collection of cuts from the mighty Crooked Man, AKA sometime Sweet Exorcist and All Seeing I man Richard 'Parrot' Barratt. A-side 'Love & Resistance' is one of Barratt's most magical and otherworldly workouts yet - a long and crooked chunk of off-kilter deep house soul featuring vocals by Carmen Squire that's as emotionally impactful as it as magical and melancholic. Over on the flip, Barratt offers up more mind-mangling mid-tempo sleaze via the echoing vocal samples, clanking industrial machine beats and frankly filthy TB-303 bass of 'Nemesis'. He ruffs that track up further on 'Nemesister', reaching for bouncy, dancehall-influenced house beats, reverb-laden stabbing bass and trippy electronic riffs. Like much of Barratt's work, it's effortlessly excellent.