Barry Adamson: Back to the Cat
Thursday, 13 Mar 2008 17:11
Barry Adamson - he's smooth.
Central Control, out March 17th.
In a nutshell…
Dark soul and smoky funk.
What's it all about?
Another collection of the exquisite. Back To The Cat smoothes its way through songs of love and misery, contemplating the afflictions of the modern world.
This is the eighth studio album from Barry Adamson and skips from the upbeat to the downbeat to the nondescript. The songs are layered with dripping harmonies and evocative melodies iced with their composer's deep, spine-tingling, bass croons.
Who's it by
Having dipped in and out of various bands in the past (most notably the Bad Seeds) Adamson has developed a reputation as a highly-skilled and highly-acclaimed solo artist since his first solo material on 1989s Moss Side Story.
He left Mute records in 2002 and since then has self-distributed work on his label Central Control International.
He was also the first person to make commercial recordings of rapper Soulja Boy when the Illinoisan featured on Adamson's 2006 LP Stranger On The Sofa.
As an example…
"I saw my baby on the corner/She left me reeling when she said/I could love you but that would leave me in misery/She said that love's hotel was open/And there's now a vacancy." –I Could Love You
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Why not? Adamson's not received the nod yet but he really should do if there's any justice in the world.
What the others say
"An album you can either listen to closely with 'alternative' friends or play in the background of your next yuppie-filled, red-wine dinner party." –TheScene.com
"This is pretty cool... somewhere between Dan the Automator and Leonard Cohen." Skullring.org
So is it any good?
Since starting his own recording and distribution company Barry Adamson has given himself free-reign to make the music he wants, when he wants and with all compromises dropped. The result? Not his best work to date but the easily one of the records that tows the line closest to what he would have intended.
Some of the arrangements here are a little clumsy and even overtly cheesy, but only because that's the kind of feeling Adamson wants to play with when writing songs.
People who already like the Adamson sound will find little to turn them away here and yet it's not the work needed if pulling in new fans is on the agenda. Adamson is an auteur and so will naturally disregard the majority of listeners off the cuff, however what this does is allow him the freedom to experiment with music on his own terms and, hey, if it doesn't come off then so be it.
In all, this isn't the perfect record but more than enough to keep fans ticking over until album number nine is revealed.
8/10
Mat Strowbridge
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