Swoon
Album | Prefab Sprout
A tremendously gifted songwriter gets all of his quirks out of his system in one go.
Prefab Sprout's reclusive mastermind Paddy McAloon, in a rare interview in the September 2009 issue of Mojo, largely dismisses his group's 1984 debut: "It's not played well, I sing it so badly, and the sense of structure is poor, but the chords are fantastic." He's right on the last point, but otherwise sells this peculiar but intriguing album short. By no means a masterpiece on the level of Steve McQueen or Jordan: The Comeback, Swoon showcases a tremendously gifted songwriter getting all of his quirks out of his system in one go. The resulting mix of new wave and folk-rock, filled with unexpected melodic detours and self-consciously clever lyrics, is at times remarkably odd: on "Here on the Eerie," McAloon sounds bizarrely like Martin Short's old Ed Grimley character. However, McAloon's nascent genius is on full display with songs like the Ennio Morricone-inflected "Don't Sing" and the beguiling torch song "Cruel," which is so good that Elvis Costello himself (clearly a major influence) took to performing it live. And sometimes, like when Wendy Smith goes into her trademark wordless, helium-register harmonies on the album capper "Technique," Prefab Sprout's mature sound comes into full focus.
-
Music Review
Everything But The Girl
Everything But The Girl -
Music Review
Golden Cleaners
The Cleaners From Venus -
Music Review
Pillows and Prayers
Various Artists -
Music Review
Rattlesnakes
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
-
Music Review
High Land Hard Rain
Aztec Camera -
Music Review
The Complete Adventures of the Style Council
Music Group -
Music Review
The Flat Earth
Thomas DolbyThomas Dolby's second album sounds far more dated than its…
-
Music Review
Walk Across the Rooftops
The Blue Nile
-
Music Review
Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello -
Music Review
Songs To Remember
Scritti Politti -
Books Review
The Power and the Glory
Graham Greene (novelist) -
Music Review
Volume, Contrast, Brilliance (Sessions and Singles Volume 1)
The Monochrome Set
