Comicopera

Robert Wyatt describes Comicopera, his twelfth solo album, as “about the unpredictable mischief of real life.” It’s also about the unpredictable mischief of Robert Wyatt, whose thoughts and music are never modest or linear. His ambitious concepts, his unusual sense of arrangement, and his lyrical proselytizing make for dark songs that often seem to be banging heads together for the sheer of joy of it. “A Beautiful War” hardly sounds as dire as its intentions, shuffling with a Salvation Army band bleating alongside a single, solitary beat as the reality of war is caricatured with nursery rhyme simplicity, while “Out of the Blue,” with Brian Eno, begins with abrasive dissonance to introduce a hypnotic and ominous musical scenario. Comicopera is divided into three parts, expressing love and loss, war and conflict and, eventually, muted hope. Guests are plentiful, from old friends Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno to unexpected icons such as Paul Weller and a series of collaborators who add unpredictable touches. Wyatt adapts Federico Garcia Lorca, sings in Italian and Spanish, and keeps us guessing which way the road turns up ahead.