Stuart Moxham & Louis Philippe - The Devil Laughs (2020)

Much has been written about Young Marble Giants’ small,
perfect catalogue, which contained roughly two-dozen songs,
nearly each one a perfect gem. Less is known about his long
wilderness years after the break-up of his first professional
band. His next project, The Gist, chopped YMG’s minimalism
into a new sound. "This Is Love, Public Girls and Fool For A
Valentine showed his songs to be razorsharp, but the album’s
fragmented pieces were a step too far for some, though even
the strangest, Carnival Headache, when cast in sunlight by
Alison Statton’s combo Weekend, was as fine a song as any
he’d written - and Love At First Sight became a
million-seller when covered by Etienne Daho.

Then Stuart disappeared. A mid-90s resurgence led to fine
albums done on low budgets, before more silence followed. The
Gist’s 2018’s release Holding Pattern - unexpected and then
quickly followed by YMG singer Alison Statton’s first new
album with her accompanist Spike in two decades, adding fuel
to public interest. The Devil Laughs, recorded a few years
back, is a compelling addition to the canon of the 21st
century songwriting. Stuart’s generally unadorned musical
presentation does not hinder his appreciation for the skills
of Louis Philippe, whose iconic arrangements across an array
of Él label albums inspire the fierce devotion of aficionados
around the world.

Nor does the unvarnished solidity of Stuart’s arrangements
deter Louis from hearing possibilities for their presentation
in styles which take inspiration from the perfection of
1960’s studio technology that led to the rise of Brian
Wilson, Burt Bacharach, along with less-recognised names such
as Bones Howe and Roy Halee. Tidy Away is Young Marble Giants
redux, though the backing vocals hint at maturity which band
didn’t live to see. Fighting To Lose, written with producer
Ken Brake, would pass as a worthy b-side to Bridge Over
Troubled Water, and although the songs are otherwise
Stuart’s, Louis fans will delight at several, like Love
Hangover and Sky Over Water, which display his style and
production genius as succinctly as anything on his own
albums.

The Devil Laughs is as out of its time as Colossal Youth was
- its subtle but immediate beauty, devoid of “rock”, is a
recording best understood in the light of those obscure
groundbreakers who inspired it - the faux barbershop vocals
of Smile-era Beach Boys, the studio lustre of Tom Wilson’s
work with Simon & Garfunkel, a dash of The Swingle Sisters
and French chanson - along with enough hints of Young Marble
Giant’s modernist folk abstraction to satisfy longtime fans.
The Devil Laughs is a small masterpiece of pure expression."