The Much Much How How and I - Cosmo Sheldrake (2018): B Tier

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 The stage opens not with fanfare, but with a flutter — a kaleidoscope of curious sounds tumbling into place. The Much Much How How and I begins like a dream trying to remember itself, and for forty minutes, Cosmo Sheldrake turns that uncertainty into wonder. Every note feels painted, every rhythm like a bird briefly landing before vanishing again into the canopy.

Sheldrake, a British composer known for folding field recordings and eccentric instrumentation into kaleidoscopic pop, invites us to listen the way children look at clouds — searching for shapes that may not exist, yet somehow still feel real. His production swings between gentle folk sensibility and gleeful chaos, where flutes, voices, and synths dance in strange, unpredictable harmony.

Birthday Suit stands as the album’s most recognizable burst of energy — joyous and unashamedly weird — while Wriggler scuttles beneath the surface, playful and sinister in equal measure. Each song seems to transform mid-step, like a character changing costumes between verses. It’s whimsical and fractured, but never hollow. There’s purpose in the madness.

At times, the album teeters on the edge of too much — a swirl of noise threatening to collapse under its own curiosity. Yet that’s precisely what makes it endearing. Sheldrake doesn’t just perform; he experiments in real time, and the listener becomes part of the experiment.

Ranking: B Tier — Worth a Listen.
Not a flawless act, but a memorable one. The Much Much How How and I belongs to those who seek music that moves sideways — music that hums, hops, and hides behind the curtain, smiling as it fades from view.

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