Ulysses - On Safari

I joke about living in 1974 and if it was 1974 you could expect On Safari to be selling Millions. There's something wonderfully Glam Rock about the band, not necessarily the songs, although Looking For A Guru's Call And Response hits that nail on the head.

It's the attitude and vibe, the sense of humour, the feeling that this band spend every day laughing, every dong is an absolute riot. Take the funky 10cc Rubber Bullets era, Doctors And Nurses, delightfully silly, charmingly addictive and there's still the trademark chord and tempo changes.

The poptastic lead single, Dragons, showed us all what to expect and the fun never stops. That multi layered chorus still sounds ace. Why Aren't These People is great Piano Rock with a Billy Joel Don't Ask Me Why beat to a McCartney like stomper. The video for the new single tells you all you need to know about Ulysses.

Ulysses have been going for over a decade and a half and they've never lost the ability to provide joyous songs, without ever tipping into the Self Parody that hurts bands like The Darkness. The closing Calendar Street reveals, yet again, how well they do Toy Town Psych Pop. It may just be what they are best at.

Situation Man is a Follyfoot for the Sci Fi fan, Useless Love is Jigsaw Pop Rock, Let's Move is Chinn Chapman doing ELO. Pipers Chest again feels like a RAK single, Fuzzy Light is really Christie with a right old Jangle.

There's even a 45 second instrumental halfway through, a CD separation of Side 1 and Side 2 if you like. On Safari offers everything that you'd expect from a Ulysses album, but so much more. This romp will have you looking at the world in a far more positive way. No bad thing these days.

You can buy the album here and I'm sure you'll be able to listen to more there after tomorrow's release date.


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