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John Cale: Poptical Illusion review – counterculture icon finds his fun side
Cale creates a sense of hope as he sets hard-won musical wisdom alongside dreamlike reflections in songs with synths, noise and hip-hop grooves
“Make it happen for you in the future / It’s a better life than in your past,” he sings on the gently euphoric Davies and Wales, reflecting: “And avoid all the mistakes we made when we were younger, we don’t care who we hurt on the way up.” Photograph: PR HandoutThe dark global situation informs the jagged guitars and industrial beats of Company Commander (“the rightwingers burning their libraries down”) and Edge of Reason, but even then he is able to glimpse hope “through the rain”. The mood is playful, as these textural songs dip into synths, noise, hip-hop grooves and – for Shark-Shark – a vintage Velvet Underground roar.
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