Retractor 
When you listen to Thighpaulsandra's music, your cup most certainly runneth over. In fact, Thighpaulsandra may be one of the most indulgent musicians working today. Tim Lewis' gooey concoctions of all of the most exaggerated elements of prog, krautrock, glam rock and homoeroticism is not some postmodern juxtaposition of styles meant to demonstrate his cleverness. Rather, it is the work of a man who fetishizes the music he loves to the point of overdose. This is not a bad thing. Indeed, it is a pleasure to hear music as un-selfconscious as Thighpaulsandra's, that is referential without resorting to parody or irony. His
Some Head and
Michel Publicity Window EPs both ingeniously exhibited Thighpaulsandra's talent for making his musical fetishes coherent and enticing to listeners. Thighpaulsandra's singular mastery of analog synthesizers has made him the ideal choice for collaborations with Julian Cope, Spiritualized and Coil. 2001's
I, Thighpaulsandra, was an exhasting 2-CD set that displayed his skills at catalizing beautiful and unique long-form compositions, but also evidenced his prog-esque penchant for overblown, overlong self-indulgent wankery.
I, Thighpaulsandra was thankfully saved from being relegated to the same pile as Yes'
Tales From Topographic Oceans by its energetic spirit and the jarring eclecticism of each track. The new album definitely benefits from its relatively efficient length.
Double Vulgar is a tighter, slimmer and sexier beast, much like the young naked men that adorn the album's artwork in various states of aesthetic slavery, death and decay. Thighpaulsandra is assisted by an assortment of terrific collaborators, including familiar names from the Coil family such as The Boy Anal, Martin Schellard, Cliff Stapleton, Ossian Brown and Jhon Balance. "The Bush Administration Project" combines the operatic voice of Thighpaulsandra's mum Dorothy Lewis backed by some very minimal piano, before majestic synthesizers explode into prominence, with all the magic and pomp of Phaedra-era Tangerine Dream. The second track "Slammer" takes a sharp left turn into a deeply rhythmic rock n' roll groove, with sexy vocals courtesy of Sion Orgon. Synthesizers are wielded for maximum psychedelic effect, sounding like a recontextualized version of bad-but-interesting 70's prog-rock like The Sensational Alex Harvey Band or Curved Air. "On the Horns of Magda Reuth" is an improvised jam that utilizes the strange and rare Russian ANS synthesizer, along with guitars and hurdy gurdy. It's a lengthy, psychedelic jam session, but it's much more Nurse With Wound than Grateful Dead, with its eerie atmosphere and sudden launches into pounding industrial oscillations. "The Circumcision of Christ" meanders around a bit in sampled shortwave radio transmissions, before turning into a wickedly brutal electro-rock song with soaring, mutated vocals. The title track is also the most brilliant—an unfolding drama that melds medievalism with Eno-ambience before transforming into a massive glam-metal-Kraut groove, with joyously barked vocals by the Welshman himself. The brief, twisted noise explosion of "He Tastes of the Sea" is followed quickly by the eroticized drones of "His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales Breaches Reality." This ritualized sex fantasy utilizes the beatiful vibratory Farfisa organ along with samples of some rather shockingly lewd pillow talk between Ossian Sex-Shop and another unidentified pervert. Double Vulgar is unmistakably the work of an artist who has the uncanny ability both to shamelessly wallow in his own predilections, and persuade the listener to go along for the ride.
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