J. MCFARLANE'S REALITY GUEST - "WHOOPEE" LP

LULUS:

In the House of Lu, we love a sonic heel turn. Truly the time for it; we're a month into 2024 and on reflection New Blue Sun might be my album of 2023. Also, have you heard the Alanis Morissette ambient album from 2022? It's not necessarily good, but it is weird in a fun way (which makes it a specific kind of good). J. McFarlane's Reality Guest place themselves firmly within that creative zeitgeist with Whoopee, a delightful dip into trip-hop and murky breakbeats from the weirdo-pop outfit.

While Ta Da felt like the logical conclusion of the direction Jules was moving through late-era Twerps, Hot Topic and then Blank Statements, I wouldn't have guessed how literal a conclusion that turned out to be. With Whoopee, McFarlane moves into entirely uncharted territory - a sharp turn away from stripped back hooky skronk, plunging into a deep lake of dreamy fog and breaks.

Employing a new breathy, off-the-stip vegas voice, Julia leads us through what might be her most cohesive record yet. Notably less playful than previous projects, Whoopee instead marks out a space to stretch out in, and as a result is able to take us on much more of a guided tour of its little world.

Lead single Slinky feels like the one connective tendon between Ta Da and Whoopie; structurally it feels like a classic Jules track, albeit with buried breaks and a dubby trumpet lead. From there on it's all new; exploring similar territory to contemporaries Acopia, Th Blisks and YL Hooi, Whoopee leans very much towards the pop end of the current trip-hop revival.

Like many trip-hop turns of the mid-90s before it (Ryuichi Sakamoto's Smoochy springs particularly to mind), Whoopee rewards repeated listens. Trust it, let it wiggle under your skin.