One of this year’s unexpected pleasures has been Meilyr Jones. The former frontman of Race Horses has gone solo, and anyone who has seen him live will know that he’s an unusual proposition, shifting from Dexys-style indie-soul to heart-rending balladry to shiny pop. All delivered like a young, Welsh, Jonathan Richman.
His debut album should arrive next year, preceded by a limited-edition 7in single, How to Recognise a Work of Art – the song he opens his shows with – released on 8 January (which you can order here). You don’t need to wait until then to hear it, though – we’ve got the video for your delight and delectation here.
“I wrote the song about the preposterous world of art collectors, the panic of what is popular, what will succeed, telling people what to like, and what to eat, and the recycling of pop culture. I also wanted to make something light and fun, and full of humour,” Jones says. “When in Rome, I spent my days seeing churches, like a tourist, and I remember seeing a nun putting a plastic plant in front of a Raphael fresco. That lack of reverence of the past I really liked. I would enjoy seeing tourists taking self-portraits next to Michelangelo sculptures. How to Recognise a Work of Art is about the obsession in our time with authenticity and the cult of the artist.”
The video, apparently, was inspired by Fellini’s film 8½. “I imagined the story of the video to the song really clearly and worked with theatre director Wils Wilson, who I met doing Neon Neon’s Praxis Makes Perfect with NT Wales, to bring to life the ideas in my head,” Jones says. Have a look, and let us know what you think.
- Meilyr Jones plays Oval Space, London, with Nicolas Godin on 11 November.
