New York "anti-folk" hero Jeffrey Lewis is the stereotypical indie geek. He wears a gaudy yellow T-shirt advertising an obscure US indie label. At 11pm, his Woody Allen-like voice is still leading an impromptu soundcheck.
"Get on with it!" someone shouts, amid chuckles. Lewis and the Jitters usually sound like a nerdier Jonathan Richman fronting glorious indie shambles the Pastels.
However, they are currently touring 12 Crass Songs, an album of compositions by the notorious anarchist punk group. Hearing the Woody Allen of anti-folk singing Crass lyrics about demolishing the system is utterly incongruous, which may be why it works: his wide-eyed deliveries extract the pure pop melodies from what were bludgeoned rants. I Ain't Thick, It's Just A Trick aims to demolish conditioning and religion by sounding like Peter, Paul and Mary.
The harrowing Auschwitz-referencing The Gasman Cometh ("where will you be when the bodies burn?") is transformed into a nursery rhyme, the childlike voices making the content even more disturbing.
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