Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The best of art arguably comes out of despair, damage or dysfunction, the most memorable of music is born in a place of darkness and heartfelt. The open-eyed realisation that what was once a beautiful paradise is now a place in which distress grows, only alleviated in its promise to pull you under by the sound which captures the imagination and shows both the artist and the listener that there is light that can be seen to pulse wildly out of the sinister and sombre thoughts.
It is a pulse that some might suggest is delivered by misconception, of the deceit possible in the mind as it finds ways to cope with the feelings of anger and resentment that have built up, the Primetime Delusion it might be called, the thought that the world has become such a terrible place whilst a set of circumstances and outside influences has joined forces to bring you as close to the edge of misery as you can go.
They say it could all be in your head, that if you seek a more positive attitude then your troubles will all go away, that is their delusion and one that is argumentative at best. Yet as Trapper Schoepp tracks through the woods of personal outrage and the break-up of relationships, both spiritually and with his country, the sense of powerful and committed of rage slowly dissipates and is soon replaced by the knowledge that fate does often conspire seemingly against you but in the end it is a guide to the next set of brushes and the canvas in which you draw upon. Life, as they say, is a teacher, countries and Presidents change, the next love is not that far away.
In songs such as Drive-Thru Divorce, What You Do To Her, If All My Nines Were X’s, Sleight of Hand and the co-write with American legend Bob Dylan in the seismic sensual song of Oh, Wisconsin, Primetime Illusion is a considered and thoughtful response to the agony of what can befall us all, the mystery in how life gets its kicks by making is work through our issues and resolving them to the point where every drop of emotional juice is condensed into a piece of remarkable art.
An impressive recording, this is no illusion, this is life seen through the eyes of us all.
Trapper Schoepp’s Primetime Illusion is released on January 25th via Xtra Mile Recordings.
Ian D. Hall