Fop
Album | Kristian Hoffman
A 21st century take on '60s art pop
Decades ago, even the most skilled prognosticator would have had a tough time predicting that the guy who played with vintage CBGB punks The Mumps and No Wave pioneers James White and the Blacks would wind up collaborating with the likes of Rufus Wainwright and The Kinks’ Dave Davies, but that’s the trajectory Kristian Hoffman’s career has taken. His status as a premier baroque-pop solo stylist might have been even more difficult to foresee from his scrappy beginnings, but there’s no mistaking Hoffman’s mastery of that mode on Fop. His first proper solo effort in 13 years – his last outing was an album of duets – Fop is almost shocking in its sonic grandeur and skillful attention to musical detail, with graceful strings soaring, elegant harpsichord lines tinkling, tympani drums rumbling, and of course, Hoffman’s own airy tenor bringing his sophisticated, Brian Wilson-jamming-with-the-Left Banke compositions to life. It’s not a monochromatic record – there are doses of everything from disco (“Soothe Me”) to guitar-led garage rock (“Hey Little Jesus”) – but ‘60s-inspired art pop seems to be at the core of Hoffman’s sensibility, and Fop is a staggeringly ambitious (and accomplished) modern take on the style.
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