J. McFarlane's Reality Guest - Whoopee CD

I see this being a polarising record in the feeble cultural dialogue of 2024, but it’s one we’ve* all come to love. While Julia McFarlane’s solo debut ‘Ta Da’ (2019) was a bold statement coming out of her tenure in The Twerps, it seems comfortably in-good-taste compared to the bizarre pop boldness of ‘Whoopee’.

This is a record that could be, to put it bluntly, annoying as heck. There’s an undeniable late-90s-into-2000s sound palette, but remember for the abominations that were Cool Britannia, Beck’s ‘Devil’s Haircut’ and Moby, there’s always the positive example of Saint Etienne.

It really feels like I’m stepping into J. and her Reality Guest bandmates’ world. I feel no overtly considered postmodern cultural positioning. I hear a unique and freaky pop music vision. ‘Whoopee’ is catalogued in my brain somewhere near the world of Dean Blunt and a teen memory of Madonna performing ‘Ray of Light’ live on TV with two guys going buckwild on the Korg MS20 knobs. - Nic  

P.S. also available on LP here