Music

You can understand why otherwise progressive young gentlemen might be drawn to the figure of the late John DeLorean, automobile exec turned jet-setting confidence trickster, who held the dubious distinction of being ‘the world’s first playboy engineer’. This was a guy who had plastic surgery to enhance his jaw and was baptised as a Christian in his own swimming pool.

Like the designs of his cars – especially the winged DMC-12, aka the time machine in ‘Back To The Future’ –  everything about DeLorean’s life was vaguely preposterous. And it’s very much in this spirit that Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip have embarked upon their collaboration as Neon Neon, an ’80s-infused concept album based on the ballsy dream merchant’s rise and fall.

It’s not a concept they stick to rigorously (the video for Visage-esque single ‘I Lust U’, for instance, is all about jellyfish). But their guest vocalists do seem to have enjoyed imagining what the seedier aspects of DeLorean’s lifestyle might have been like. ‘Latchkey kid feel the drip, licking pussy lips’ offers rapper Spank Rock over the sleazy electro beat of ‘Trick For Treat’. ‘Mmmmm oooooh’ moan Yo Majesty on ‘Sweat Shop’, thoroughly warming to the role of production-line hussy.

Only Rhys avoids over-literalism with a couple of great summery pop numbers, a surreal electro tale about Michael Douglas’ sunglasses and a closing eulogy which somehow manages to drive the nail into DeLorean’s stainless steel coffin with something like spiritual perspective.

Unfortunately, Neon Neon’s retro fantasy is too often steered off course by the postmodern nudge-nudginess of their revisionist hip hop guests, jarring like hot, wet skin on the leather of a car seat.