Communication Problems

Aftermorethanayearwithoutshows,rock'n'rollmayneverhaveseemedmoreatastandstillthanitisnow.Andaslife'sslowlyreturningtonormal, our favorite musicians too are getting back at it. Such is the caseofNICK WHEELDON, a Sheffield, UK native, who has been having a considerable impact on our French underground scene lately. In the past five years, he made nearly 20 records with countless bands (The Jesus Loves Heroin Band, Os Noctàmbulos, 39th & the Nortons, Nick & Alizon, Sex Sux, etc.), each of them offering him a new opportunity to refine his Gene Clark and Alex Chilton-inspired sound – a sound both majestic and fragile, delicate and pure. This time, he's decided to release his first record under his own name. Here comes Communication Problems.

Anyonewho'smetWheeldon knows how much he loves being surrounded by a jolly bunch of friends and sharing musical escapades with them – and even though he claims not liking the idea of a " music scene " (something that's more exclusive than inclusive in his opinion), it's getting easier and easier to find moving and reliable musicians in his immediate surroundings. One won't be surprised, then, to discover that his first solo album was actually recorded in some of his friends' rooms, in their skillful company. Wheeldon describes their creative process as follows: "a collective painting created in the here and now, each tune being recorded as it was written", with Paul Trigoulet (Bootchy Temples) taking care of the mix to give a sense of cohesion to the set of songs. The resulting record turns out to be a perfect self portrait of Wheeldon (the cover, made by Marie Meilhan-Bordes, fondly nods to Dylan's neglectedwork),whosehypersensitivityandaffectionforhisfriendscomesinspurtsat every turn of the songs.