Spooky Action is the new release from Paul Draper, and the title of the album is certainly a good description of what it contains, as many of the tracks here feature strange sounds and melodies, that are occasionally creepy in tone.

By Jane Howkins

Early examples of this creepiness include the rushing onslaught that is first track Don’t Poke The Bear, and Jealousy Is A Powerful Emotion, which features a creepy intro that sounds similar to both Tubular Bells and the Lavender town theme from the Pokemon games. Draper seems to draw upon unusual influences throughout the whole album, and it keeps the listener guessing, wondering what is to come next.

Some of our readers might recognise Draper’s name, and that’s because he was formally in a group in the 1990s called Mansun. They were a fairly unique band, but imploded back in 2003, and this is actually Draper’s first release in 17 years, so it has been a fairly long wait for fans. Thankfully, it’s a fairly decent release (we would expect nothing less after such a long wait!), and a lot of the uniqueness and strangeness that was present in Mansun’s work is still here, albeit in a different format.

Draper has never been one to shy away from abnormality, and his warped imagination shines through in the best way on Spooky Action. It won’t be for everyone, and we imagine that some people may find themselves unsure as to what they have actually just been listening to, but fans of Mansun should dig this, and it’s worth sticking with.

Spooky Action by Paul Draper is out now.