Nick Frater: The Rebutles 1967-1970

Randomly stumbled across this one not long ago, and I've been enjoying it quite a bit. British songwriter/musician Nick Frater, an unabashed lover of McCartney-styled piano-based baroque pop music, has released a number of great albums in recent years. On 2024's The Rebutles/1967-1970, he delivers a heartfelt tribute to/pastiche of the Rutles (which, in turn, had delivered a heartfelt tribute to/pastiche of the Beatles, making this project rather meta if you think too hard about it). Imagine the lighter piano-oriented Macca fare of late-period Beatles (i.e. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da," "Fool On The Hill," "Your Mother Should Know"), filtered through the Rutles' parody/tribute stylings, and you've pretty much got it. Fun/pretty songs that are remarkably familiar but just a tad off.

You can check it out on Bandcamp.

(Meanwhile, I'm working my way through his back catalog. I really like 2023's Bivouac, a sprawling, more varied affair (albeit still firmly in that light baroque pop style).