alvaro: live in brussels

"Although me, you and the guy-next-door all tend to think of Alvaro (The Chilean with the Singing Nose) as an avant-garde artist by one measure or another, it is also true that he has a cunning way with pop melodicism and delivery. This has never been clearer than one the Live In Brussels LP. Recorded in October 2015 at Les Ateliers Claus, Alvaro is at peak form here. Playing piano (and a little nose flute), he sings through a great program of faves ('Valaparaiso,' 'Mum's Milk,' 'She's So Pretty,' etc.) like the Bizzaro World cabaret star he has been since Drinkin My Own Sperm (FTR 174LP) was released back in '77. Playing in front of roomful of blasted Belgian artists (you can easily hear Dennis Tyfus singing and choking along to the proceedings) Alvaro sounds relaxed, assured and brilliant. For all of its inherent strangeness, this is music you could play for your mom without scaring the curlers out of her wig. The tunes are humane and funny and beautiful. His between-songs raps are revelatory. Just pour yourself a cocktail, sit back in a comfortable chair, and be prepared to have a beautiful goddamn day." --Byron Coley, 2017 Silk-screened covers; Edition of 200 (numbered).