Heartbreak, murder ballads, an Americana-Laurel Canyon smooth, beautiful pop sound, there’s superbly powerful maturity to this debut by the Sheffield/Cheshire raised alt-pop singer-songwriter simmering with dark, tragic stories. Opener Poolside has a gorgeous soulful rock sound juxtaposed with sinister images by a psychopathic narrator: “In summer town/ Where I'd love to watch you drown/ Sitting by the poolside (Poolside, poolside)/ So kiss me now or I'll blow your brains right out.” The excellent single and former Song of the Day Loveshot takes more of a funk-rock sound portraying the dark side of ambition: “I see a young girl/ Fake pearls / Playing in a big world / Trying to cry.” Much of the rest of the album takes a slow, but just as potent pace, with echoes of Karen Carpenter, Lana Del Rey or Weyes Blood, with particular standouts including Falling In Love Again and Paint Me Like A Woman, and to the more Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac rock-pop Housewife Dreams of America. The quieter but deadly Alligator also bubbles under, while Try Changing captures another infectious, swooning 70s pop style. Brooding, moody, beautiful arrangements and vocals, and bursting with songwriting talent. Out on Chrysalis Records.
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