Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Poetry is not a poor relation to the world of art, it does not sit at the back of the class looking out of the window and reminisce over the times it was able to sit under the tree, chew on a blade of grass and write whimsical metaphorical observances down for their eyes only – Poetry is a leader, an inspiration, it insists that all art is equal and urges all to sit at the table in the same way that King Arthur and the Knights of old achieved parity and union.

Without poetry there is no art, and the poet, regardless of the century or the times they were born in, can inspire and be the basis of the contemporary release that keeps all genres flowing.

So, it is the latest marriage of forms comes to pass in Diamanda La Berge Dramm’s first full length offering to the fans, and in Chimp, the texts of Steven J Fowler become the inspiration for a work of art, an experience that is unique and fearsome, formidable in its delivery, compelling in its discovery.

Released on the Irish independent record label, Diatribe Records, Chimp is a layering of natural observation and interpretation of art itself, one form aiding another in a way that is impressively striking and melodically enthused at the same time.

Across tracks such as Horse, Jungle, Gorilla, CEO, Orangut, the Orangutan, and the superb Voices, Diamanda La Berge Dramm’s own interpretative voice and music shines through, but it is ever mindful to the text, indeed pays beautiful homage to the inspiring form that the metaphorical whimsy others see, and which Dramm understands is quintessential to life itself.

An album of meaning, almost philosophical, certainly metaphysical, its creation unhindered by the voices surrounding it who claim such applications should not be attempted lest poetry is taken too seriously. Poetry is serious, even at its most light-hearted, and to hear the respect it is due in the music of Diamanda La Berge Dramm’s is to be enlightened.

Ian D. Hall