Yukio Yung
Goodbye Porkpie Brain
(Mostly) Water (ep)
Hello Pulsing Vein

Produced by Yukio Yung

Yukio Yung - vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, theremin, ocarina, samples, tapes and assorted other noises; Andy Ward - drums; Todd Dillingham - guitar on "Fizzing Out"; Edward Bunting - cello and violin on Vein

Yukio Yung used to be half of The Chrysanthemums, one of the great, undervalued (and frankly, unknown) pop bands of the late 20th Century. This collection - two 10" vinyl records and a four song CD - is the last of four solo projects he did in the 1990s. Like all his work, this group of discs proved difficult to put together, though after many years of searching, I've finally completed the set. I got Hello, Pulsing Vein first and lucked onto (Mostly) Water a year later. Goodbye Pork Pie Brain proved to be the most elusive but perseverance paid off and yesterday I finally received it from a guy in Austria, my new best friend Thomas.

Through the 1990s, Yung (aka Terry Burrows) released two full length CDs and a vinyl EP prior to these discs:

• ART POP STUPIDITY, a disc that has unfortunately eluded acquisition as yet
• A BRAINLESS DECONSTRUCTION OF THE POPULAR SONG, one of the acmes of avant-pop music both in content and form (see my rant about Hidden CD Tracks for more info) and
• THE JEFF LYNNE EP featuring inspired covers of ELO songs.

The (Mostly) Water CD ep contains two songs from GOODBYE - "Past Opening" and the aforementioned "Fizzing Out" -- with two other songs, the title track and the magically dopey but catchy "Them Zeppelins". I'm not sure if this was a pre-album teaser or a between-album "single" - in either case it's the easiest of this set to find and worth the effort. A representative microcosm of Yung's musical universe.

The last of the trio is VEIN, a collection of 9 pop tunes that has a slightly harder edge (i.e. a bit more rockin') than it's predecessor, though it's no less catchy and enjoyable. "The Franking Machine Song" is as inspired as its title and the last (?) of the Yukio's Dreams, "Seaweed Heaven (YD#8)" has a chorus that borders on soaring. "Discovering Gin" is so deliriously catchy and hook-filled it should be enshrined; "The Great Impression" runs a close second in that category.

The great Andy Ward is the drummer of all of these, with Yung pulling most of the other instrumental chores. Shortly after this, Yung and Ward, along with Yung's former Chrysanthemums mate Martin Howell, put out two releases as Chrys&themums which continue in this mold. But following that project and into the new century Burrows doesn't seem to have released anything. He reportedly had some health problems and his wiki entry says he was working on books. In any case, he returned in 2005 with his second collaboration with R. Stevie Moore and with the appearance of a MySpace page this past week, one can only hope there is more music to come.

All together, this is an hour of the finest pop music you will find anywhere. Burrows is a master and it is a rare pleasure hearing music this skillfully crafted and entertaining. I am in fact so confident in this that I will send, free of charge, my extra copies of HELLO PULSING VEIN to the first two people who ask for them. mistermxyzptlk AT earthlink DOT net. You won't regret it.

Posted 19 July 2006. Revised 28 January 2007.