With Chris Packham declaring death for pandas and America pouring oil on sealife, it’s good to find someone staunchly at one with nature. Tim Ten Yen‘s candy-floss keyboard pop lyricises about foxes, bears and sea anemones without any discernable insincerity; no-one’s sung about wildlife with such commitment since Sesame Street wound down. Not only that, but on stage the Londoner performs with what le cool calls “a frazzled-looking mechanical cat”. Away from this intent naturism, his considered sound veers from Aqua-esque playfulness to indie film soundtrack sensibility, and from occasionally annoying to generally catchy. Rumours of a residency at London Zoo are currently unconfirmed.
Steve Lamacq has apparently said that TTY is destined to be a cult figure, while a popular nickname is the Sensational Singing Salaryman. Don’t ask. More appropriately, Spinner called him a one-man Divine Comedy. I prefer a one-man Fraggle Rock.
