Cornelius
Point
Matador

Finally, here's Cornelius' (a.k.a. Keigo Oyamada) long-awaited follow up to the b-r-r-rilliant Fantasma album of 1997. It took him some years but it sounds like he's spent the time rather well. Point is to the point.

In addition to Fantasma Cornelius has released Cm:Cornelius Remixes (1999, including songs by The High Llamas, The Pastels, Buffalo Daughter, U.N.K.L.E., plus others) and Fm:Fantasma Remixes (1999, Fantasma-tracks remixed by Damon Albarn, The High Llamas, The Pastels, Buffalo Daughter, U.N.K.L.E., plus others). Yes, Cornelius is deep into remix-electronic-experimental territories. On Point he's left the more "straightforward" pop song moments, where he brought along friends: Robert and Hilary from the Apples in Stereo, and Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas. That said, Point shows Cornelius more playful than ever, with a huge attic full of toys to pick from. Yes, I can sort of imagine all his equipment spread all over the place when he's finished playing at the end of the day. Like a wild 5-year-old (think Calvin) with a mind full of fantastic ideas. Bedroom. Living room. Hallway. Basement. Backyard. Everywhere...

However I still put Fantasma as my favorite - maybe because of the poppier, simpler tracks. But; there are a lot of golden tracks on Point to make it another Cornelius neo-pop classic, and probably one of the albums that'll be one of the records of 2002. Take "Smoke" (or Su-moke, as Cornelius says) - bouncing, twisting, curling. And the dance-beat "Drop" (which single version has been remixed by Norwegians Kings of Convenience, as a 'Thank-you-very-much-for-letting-us-do-so! version). Or the really amusing "I Hate Hate", which is sort of a hardcore, leaded prog-track - quite short, but indeed punchy. But my real favorite and the master track is "Fly" (uh, Fu-ly), which simply is a marvellous journey through and a perfect example of Cornelius' 'kingdom of sound' (of course with typical peculiar lyrics). Other tracks worth mentioning: the moody "Tone Twilight Zone", and - last but not least - "Brazil" (or "Aquarela do Brasil"), the samba-exaltação of 1939 by Ary Evangelista Barroso - the world famous Brasilian samba composer and hit-maker xtraordinaire. Great fun, with classy elegance.

Yet again Cornelius-san has shown glimpses of genius. Salute!

Distribution in Norway: Tuba!

Copyright © 2002 Håvard Oppøyen