Details These Acid Stars
‘These Acid Stars’ is the debut album from J Xaverre (pronounced zav-ier).Known to his mum as Pete Gofton, and currently modelling the look of an hirsute Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Relocated to the glamour of his native Sunderland (alumni: The Venerable Bede, Leatherface), and encouraged by fellow Wearside operatives The Futureheads, Pete set about getting the symphonies playing daily in his head onto tape.
If the themes are universal: lost love, self-doubt, the horror of un-muscled flesh, the art is in the delivery. First single ‘Great All Great’ may appear to be about unrequited love, but it’s actually the tale of an illicit affair between a star and her security guard (Kris & Barbara rather than Whitney & Kevin). ‘Horse Operas’ is set on a cruise ship, as a middle-aged couple attempt to revive a love turned sour. You get the picture. Musically, we’re given the grand tour. Gone is any notion of JX being solely an arbiter of lo-fi introspection; pop melodies to give Damon Gough a seizure lurk everywhere. Equally, we’re always allowed to be conscious of Pete’s pop past, but we’re never allowed to wallow in it. If anything, songs like ‘Ex-Wonderboy’ and the epic ‘Ballad Of J Xaverre’ manage to be self-effacing and epic at the same time, which is quite some going when you think about it.