Classic_Pop_Issue_30_July_2017

SIMON LAW

LOOK TO THE SKY

DOME RECORDS

Jazzie B’s deep voice on this debut album’s

lengthy title track provides a helpful

reminder of Toronto resident Law’s pedigree

as a songwriter with Soul II Soul.

That Look To The Sky sounds similar is

therefore no surprise, especially since Caron

Wheeler lends her voice to the laid-back,

fl utey Morning Love. Most vocal duties,

however, are undertaken by Lain Gray,

notably the upbeat, brassy funk of the

tautological Fire On Fire.

On the predictably Caribbean sounds

of Sunshine Girl, meanwhile, Gray teams

up with Maxi Priest, who also takes the

lead for the acoustic reggae of When You

Love Someone. However, it is Law’s sister

Joanna who really steals the show on the

sweet My Heart Is Ready. WW

ECHOBELLY

ANARCHY & ALCHEMY

ECHOBELLY

Perhaps conscious that they’re indelibly

associated with Britpop, Echobelly open

their sixth album with a raucous blues rock

number, Hey Hey Hey. It doesn’t, of course,

take long for their Smiths roots to show

through with a nod to How Soon Is Now,

though quite why singer Sonya Madan howls

like a dog halfway through is a mystery.

It’s also the template for much of the

album, which sees the band’s only other

remaining member, Glenn Johansson,

prominently fl exing his muscles while

borrowing tricks from Johnny Marr. Madan’s

claim, on Reign On, that she’s “sold myself

to rock ‘n’ roll” isn’t entirely convincing, but

the – again – bluesy rock of the brilliantly

titled If The Dogs Don’t Get You My Sisters

Will ably compensates. WW

THE LAST DINOSAUR

THE NOTHING

NAIM RECORDS

Although he is a committed fan of Talk Talk’s

later albums, there are only occasions where

their infl uence on Jamie Cameron’s second

album is evident. They are crucial, however,

in setting the tone for his often-elaborate

musical arrangements.

The placid The National Stage, in

particular, owes a debt to Laughing Stock’s

opener, Myrrhman, but elsewhere it’s the

wide range of instruments employed that

underlines Cameron’s fascination with Mark

Hollis’ aesthetic. He wields a banjo on Grow

and We’ll Greet Death, and accordion on The

Sea, while the appearance of a small choir on

All My Faith is almost as moving as on Talk

Talk’s legendary I Believe In You. That this

is essentially a requiem for a dead friend,

makes it even more poignant. WW

CHRIS MERRICK

HUGHES

EIRENIC LIFE

HELIUM RECORDS

“It was important to do something that

wasn’t cathedral-like,” Chris Hughes says of

his second album, and if that was his goal

he’s succeeded. One-time drummer for Adam

& The Ants, and the producer behind Tears

For Fears’ fi rst two albums, Hughes instead

offers six meditative piano pieces.

At times, there’s accompaniment: an

ambient hum on Safe Warm Sun, a short

keyboard arpeggio during Tenemos Historia,

the creak of a gate on Exmoor Pony Gavette.

But mostly this is the sound of a man

unwinding, embracing a love of minimalist

composition to fashion a pleasantly

meandering album of serene, seemingly

extemporised instrumentals. Less a cathedral,

then, and more a sanctuary. WW

MARK REEDER

MAUERSTADT

KENNEN

Mark Reeder’s been ahead of the curve for

a while. The Mancunian formed The Frantic

Elevators with Mick Hucknall in 1977, moved

a year later to Berlin, where he worked as

a Factory Records scout, remixed countless

synthpop legends, and later documented

some of these adventures in 2015’s B-Movie.

This odds and sods collection features

both familiar and new names: New Order’s

Academic gets a sweaty workout, while their

The Game is stripped down to its essentials,

and Reeder transforms Inspiral Carpets’

You’re So Good To Me into a Depeche Mode

stomper. Work with The KVB and Ekkoes

prove he can do happy, too, while Broken

Hearts, with Majo Pierro, could almost be

Goldfrapp. His own ominous Giant Mushroom

and Mauerstadt’s swirling synths are the

true highlights. WW

EARL

TONGUE TIED

BMG

Though she’d actually been knocking around

for a while under her full name, Kate Earl’s

abbreviated persona fi rst came to signifi cant

attention as part of BBC Introducing, ending

up, in 2015, on their Hyde Park bill.

Shifting from the Amy Winehouse sounds

of her early days, she tried playing her jazz

straighter back then, but Tongue Tied is more

playful, with much of it offering a pleasure

comparable to Lily Allen’s LDN. Her fourth

album feels like the result of a painstaking

exercise in cut and paste, with samples

seemingly sourced from a prized collection of

doo-wop albums and breakbeat compilations,

something Holland’s Caro Emerald has been

doing for a decade. That said, the title track’s

highly entertaining swing borrows heavily

from Professor Bobo & Bosko Slim’s Disco

Bob, familiar from a Homebase ad. WW

TORO Y MOI

BOO BOO

CARPARK RECORDS

Chaz Bundick’s not afraid of switching it up

when it comes to stylistic choices, much as he

does languages with his pseudonym. Having

emerged in the chillwave era, his latest

sees him reacting to the success of his last

album by retreating from the spotlight and

searching for more space on his fi fth.

The results, consequently, are subdued,

combining aspects of 80s and contemporary

production, with Mirage full of slap bass and

consciously cheesy keyboard riffs, Don’t Try

is like Joy Division attempting synth-pop,

and Girl Like You the sound of an especially

experimental Prince B-side. There is plenty

of Vocoder action, too, not least on the

woozy Windows.

It’ll likely satisfy his fanbase, but

there’s little danger of it adding to whatever

pressure he’s feeling. WW

PETER PERRETT

HOW THE WEST WAS WON

DOMINO

“I’ve read this book too many times,”

sings Peter Perrett on An Epic Story, “The

hero’s death is tragic every time.” Perrett’s

own story could have ended similarly: the

man behind Another Girl, Another Planet,

The Only Ones’ supercharged classic, has

struggled with drugs most of his life, which

explains the sporadic nature of his catalogue.

Now, 20 years since his last release,

he’s back – older, wiser, but no less witty.

On the Sweet Jane-referencing title track,

he drawls: “Just like everyone else/ I’m

in love with Kim Kardashian”, and on the

appealingly uncomplicated Sweet Endeavour,

he announces “the jigsaw pieces next to me/

Are part of the assembly/ Of a major work of

art”. Gentler, and more American-fl avoured

than one might expect, this is a welcome, far

from tragic return. WW

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NEW RELEASES

CP30.reviews.print.indd 93 08/06/2017 11:16