Label: Heavenly Recordings
By Tyler Wright
He’s a nylon God, he’s a fantasy, he’s Mr W4. Son of Ian, cult icon and the boy on the cover of ‘New Boots and Panties!!’ – Baxter Dury’s ninth studio album proves he is certainly more than all those things.
Forever genre-bending, Dury’s mediocre bar-chain inspired record is far from mediocre. Always curious, quirky and straight up fucking cool, Baxter is back with a fresh electronic twist on his signature spoken word swagger.
Produced with Paul Epworth following a barnstorming display at the Park at Glastonbury in 2024, Baxter Dury’s dance era is here, and it is extravagant and mindboggling, outrageous and confusing and sometimes just downright ridiculous.
You’re welcomed to ‘Allbarone‘ by the title-track. A statement of a lead single. A head bopper. It does make you want to bust out the dad dance moves he’s doing on that boat in the music video. Helped along the way by his new right hand, frequent collaborator JGrrey, there’s something quite special about a speaker pumping dance track with Baxter Dury talking about a bar whilst pronouncing its name like a pretentious second-home owner or a confused gran. It is a hit.
You’re thrown straight into ‘Schadenfreude’, a spacey, synth-ridden extra-terrestrial banger. He’s got ‘Schadenfreude‘. Sometimes I’m not entirely sure what he’s on about. In the video, I’m confused as to why people are doing backflips on MDMA and I’m even more confused as to why he’s on a cheap flight to Lithuania. But again, it is an absolute trip.
Groovy and punchy, ‘Kubla Khan’ is a foot-stomper packed with another fun, batshit instrumental. ‘Alpha Dog’ comes equipped with one of the most enjoyable, singalong choruses the record has to offer. Yet another song you’ll find yourself clapping along to in the street. Textbook Baxter lyricism, but now you can really dance as you laugh at a clever quip.
The grungy bassline led ‘The Other Me’ differs from what otherwise is a perfectly flowing record. A stopgap, if you like, from the type of banger that kicked off the album. The track is jam-packed with haunting backing vocals, that ‘yayaya’ feels like something out of a low-budget horror (in a good way). Short but sweet, the guest vocals are again a highlight on this one.
‘Hapsburg’. Perhaps the pinnacle of Baxter’s new-found sound. Atmospheric choruses, a beat to step to and, of course, peak Baxter Dury songwriting. I bet you never thought you’d find yourself dancing to a song with lines mentioning such things as ‘fat duck fuckers’ and ‘the international fuck omelette’ – or at least that’s what I think I’m hearing, maybe that’ll be a Peter Kay gag one day if I’m wrong.
‘Return of the Sharp Heads’ is a superb single. JGrrey once more showcases immense talent. It’s a mover. It’s a toetapper. It is Baxter all over as he pokes fun at modern pretension and those swanning around London in ‘signet rings, boiler suits, vintage cashmere‘. You will sing along, catch yourself screaming “IS THIS THE WRONG FLOOR?”. Watch out for them soul fuckers and their beige, or gold lapels.
The record does come with its ultimate banger though, in the form of ‘Mockingjay’. Otherworldly. Crisp backing vocals with Baxter at his loudest and perhaps most raw. Making a claim for perhaps his best work ever let alone the best work on ‘Allbarone’, ‘Mockingjay’ is prime Dury. It is everything this album set out to be.
As we’re played out by the floaty ‘Mr W4’ – a short showing of Baxter Dury’s staple wit and charm. It is time to leave ‘Allbarone‘, it is no longer a bar but an album of banging beats, humour and absurd lyricism. It is an album that doesn’t take itself too seriously. But you should, because what Baxter Dury has made here is a late career renaissance album – though he never lost it. He’s crafted perhaps his finest work, in his mid-fifties. So, tell me, are you coming to Allbarone?
Listen to ‘Allbarone‘ here: