Oh boy, where to start with this pile of shit?

My assumption was that Matt Berry’s music was going to be an extended joke, an element of his acting work, laughs and side-splitters aplenty. Unfortunately, you’ll quickly realise The Small Hours isn’t a joke. Which begs the question, can a comedian do serious music?

Berry is incredibly hilarious. His roles in The Mighty Boosh, IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Snuff Box and Toast Of London are A-grade comedy performances, underpinned by his uniquely boisterous and deadpan demeanour.

But The Smalls Hours is not satirical comedy – unless Berry’s so deep in the joke that he doesn’t know if he’s joking anymore, like a confused undercover cop. His psych/folk/jazz offal is something you might find in an op shop’s vinyl collection, next to a stack of Kamhal and Engelbert Humperdinck records. It lacks substance, feels outdated, but most of all, is just plain boring. It’s like elevator music had sex with hold music in a waiting room.

Even if you try to put all of your previous conceptions of Matt Berry out of your head, the record still doesn’t improve. If you want your music to be taken seriously, especially acid jazz, you’d better wear a mask. Then again, maybe he is joking, and the joke’s on me.

Matt Berry’sThe Small Hoursis out now on Acid Jazz.

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