Mary Byker & Noko Present - 'Am I Dead Yet?' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Leaving Me Behind

2. Loneliness

3. Solid Gone

4. Joe Meek Shall Inherit The Earth

5. Ghosted

6. People Are Dangerous

7. Wasted On Me

8. Futuristic Paranoia

9. Master Of Disguise

10. Fake Flowers

11. Thanks For Sharing

Am I Dead Yet? A soundtrack to the greatest/worst movie never made. Produced by David Lynch, grainy film work with lots of lens flare, set in current times, the free world is at loggerheads with itself, rulers talking war with each other. The rich are getting richer; the poor are left to squabble over scraps. Difference is met with violence; the good guys don’t win because there are no good guys. Sound familiar?

Am I Dead Yet? Mary Byker (Apollo 440, Gaye Bykers on Acid) and Noko (Apollo 440) have taken a more traditional approach to song writing on these 11 tracks. Disenchanted with the modern world, unsure and uncomfortable with their place in it they have struck a rich vein of musical suffering.

Am I Dead Yet? 'Leaving Me Behind' is the perfect way to open the album; it’s glorious in its sadness, rich in tone yet delicate. Mary shows a more refined singing style, more of a crooner than previous work, Nokos guitar work is an opulent understatement.

I’m not going to review this album track by track because I want you to discover these gems yourself, for gems they all are. Suffice to say that 'Am I Dead Yet?' may have been the album I have been waiting for all this time. Fans of Paul Miros Sinombre series will love 'Am I Dead Yet?' as it treads the same path with as much aplomb as Pauls work.

Am I Dead Yet? Oozing quality song writing Mary and Noko make the end of days a beautiful place to be, we may be going to hell in a hand basket but we are travelling in style!

'Joe Meek Shall Inherit The Earth' should win some sort of award for its lyrics, “Britain’s got talent, you bet the fuck it has. But it’s not on a game show...” Perfect.

It may have taken the end of the world to get to it but hey it’s worth it! Am I Dead Yet?

You might have gathered throughout this review that I kinda like it. Album of the year? Absolutely, Album of the decade? You bet your arse! Album of my life? You better believe it!! I’ve waited 46 years for this album to come along and you know what? It was totally worth the wait.