From https://underthetangerinetree.blogspot.com/2021/03/disco-del-giorno-emperor-penguin
Big thanks to blog Under The Tangerine Tree for making CORPORATION POP! their record of the day and for their detailed and very complimentary review. Here’s what they say, translated from the original Italian.
We do all we can to intercept the best releases of the independent pop universe, but despite our best efforts, every now and then we miss something here at UTTT. Emperor Penguin, a huge London group, had so far escaped our radar, and we regret that very much. It’s also a shame, given the hyperbolic quality of the material, that "Corporation Pop" will not be eligible for the rankings at the end of the year, because it is simply not a ‘real ‘record. (It’s a compilation.) But let's go in order. After releasing in January of last year their third studio album "Soak Up The Gravy", which was also highly praised by industry critics, Emperor Penguin, perhaps bored by 2020’ s pandemic constraints, released a single and three EPs in digital format:"Talk To Me", "Taken For A Ride" (June), "Palaces And Slums" (August) and "Barbed Wire And Brass" (October) . A creative outpouring that might require a lie-down.
The operation was supported by Ray Gianchetti, who stamped the well-known Kool Kat Records brand on the copies of "Corporation Pop", a luxurious collection that includes the material released by the band during 2020 as well as a handful of delicious unreleased tracks. Taking advantage of the collaboration of respected characters such as Orbis Max and Lisa Mychols (the queen of Californian power pop, if there is one), Emperor Penguin in the seventeen tracks of this splendid compilation unveil sensational proof of their talent . There are four of them - Nigel Winfield, JT, Richard Wilson and Neil Christie - and all four contribute to the writing, which gives the list exceptional variety, both from a writing and singing point of view. It’s a set of wonderfully written and played pop songs, which have assimilated the lessons of Revolver and Rubber Soul , without forgetting to take inspiration from the Electric Light Orchestra and the wacky influence of Partridge and Moulding. But there is so much more. And above all, do not expect carbon copies of anyone.
Talk To Me , opening the record, brings to mind the same question as always: why have we never heard this on the radio? But, wow,! pervaded by a sonic feeling of frequency modulation from the late eighties, with those melodic explosions, with a refrain so uplifting, so energetic, it deserves patience. Great music buries bad thoughts with ease. To signal that the variety of flora and fauna in the garden of "Corporation Pop" are more diverse than those of Sonsbeek Park in Arnhem, the next track, False Prophet, intersperses songwriting segments with unusual baroque phrases, while Hell In A Handcart flirts with acoustic insights from XTC. And if Maserati , Blink and Tuesday's World return - each by their own different route - to the fold of the Beatles '66 -'68, The Way The Cookie Crumbles imposes an unexpected about-turn: the song, perhaps the most incredible of the entire collection, starts with an unexpected, badass ska beat to explode in a memorable refrain with powerful harmonies that even bring to mind the Squeeze of Is That Love?
Also worth noting is the Bacharachesque refinement of Belgravia Affair , the extravagant art rock enhanced by highly inspired synth lines that adorn 12 Angry Men , in addition to the superb acoustic - a little Macca, a (nice) little Emitt Rhodes number - called Lock Of Hair . I realise that I have quoted almost the entire list, and so I'm sorry to leave out Stay Out Of The Sun , a power pop bomb where XTC, this time at speed, somehow meet stars of the Northern European scene like Wannadies and Eggstone.
Among the unreleased songs, while we're at it, there are two of the best tracks on the record: one is Utopia , a slow-paced song caressed by a moody organ that detonates in a mighty orchestral chorus of emotion; the other is Planet Of Love , a disruptive pop shot for the dancefloor to which Lisa Mychols gives a familiar performance. "Corporation Pop" is a very rich collection that generously highlights the enormous talent of Emperor Penguin. A tremendously fascinating collection in itself, as well as causing an irresistible urge to go and seek out all the previous works of the band soon.
Thank you, Tangerine Treepeople. You had us at ‘Bachararachesque’!