Gentleman Wolf on the Power of Enlish. Cold Lazarus, New album by Enlish, out now...

 

Cold Lazarus is a daring challenge of a debut LP from Big Dave Enlish. Fully uncompromising and never backing down but it is also able to access deeper visceral dimensions of pain, truth and confession without scrimping on attitude. Even so Enlish's brand of dark humour rips out consistently. The earliest material I heard was a short sharp bite of comedy gold. Now he has developed into a serious contender of an artist but has not lost his wit. Right at the start in 'Karaoke' he pulls out 'heavy flowin' with as much serotonin left as Leonard Cohen.' and later in the record, 'It ain't line dancing when I say I throw the ho down.'

He presents us here with a crisply produced yet vocally raw mix of balls-out debauched big OG tunes with various associates guesting and an alternate vein of free-flowing introvert numbers which are maybe more relentless with their true grit and surprisingly honest reflections on tragedy, addiction and self-harm. In tracks like 'I Feel Good' and 'Only Human' he unpretentiously taps into raw issues of the human condition and manages to sidestep indulgent self pity. These creative confessions, a-rush with bleakness and self-analysis might have been tough for an audience to reconcile with the macho party tunes next door but they bind well and add back story to those devil-may-fuck debauchery anthems. Back story like the loss of his mum at an early age, the kind of tragedy in youth that leads to depression that fuels a nihilistic screw-the-consequences death wish that in turn leads to much good art and music. Full bore creativity that breaks down barriers. Dave's creativity seems to particularly flourish here in the realm of black comedy, or simply comedy with lines such as, 'Glued to the top spot like a toupee.' Touché Enlish. 

And its good to see a rapper from Cornwall on the rise with the Cornish Pasty now having achieved 'Protected Geographical Indication' in Europe. That's Champagne status as far as I'm concerned. A pasty has to be made in Cornwall to be referred to as Cornish. And Big Dave seems to appreciate the distinction between hype and actual realness, rolling with the machine while knowing it's got the crust on the top and peas inside.

Dominic J Clark

Nature Loves Courage

Courage Rating: CCCCC (5/5 C's)

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Nature Loves Courage recommended tracks:

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'I Feel Good' 'Karaoke' 'Arrogance is Bliss' 'Head in the Clouds'