Bill Pritchard:
A Trip To The Coast:
Tapete Records:
Out 10th March:
★★★★★★★★★☆
To paraphrase Number Five, one of many great Bill Pritchard singles of yore, patience is indeed a pest and really does get in the way of most things. And if you're a fan of beguiling sombre pop then you'll no doubt have been waiting interminably for the moment that Staffordshire's finest songwriter finally gets acclaim for his efforts. Well, we can dream. Crikey Moses, if his creative prowess didn't get rewarded after the album Jolie and its attendant singles (I'm In Love Forever, In The Summer - Britain, how did you miss those?), what hope for this latest effort?
Thus, some five years after his last (forgotten) album, Pritchard has signed to German indie Tapete and promptly side-swiped most of its roster aside with a belter of an album in A Trip To The Coast. You know what to expect - dewy-eyed mellow pop straight out of the same stable as other contenders such as Stephen Duffy (he's not dissimilar vocally), previous cohort Ian Broudie (he produced Jolie) and Lloyd Cole, all delivered bilingually (mainly English although Tout Seul continues his affections for all things French) and effortlessly.
Amongst the ten offerings is the previously-issued Truly Blue, an old b-side (of In The Summer), given an orchestral buffing up - it's great to hear it again, all fresh as a daisy and rightly at the centre of the album. There are plenty of other highlights - Trentham tells a tale of Stoke in all its glory, the very fine Posters is a kitchen-sink drama and the closing title-track rounds off the half-hour in a woozy minor-key haze of longing and memories. Pure Pritchard personified.
It's about time this man garnered more than casual acknowledgement - after some success around Northern Europe since the '80s, Britain is finally ready to welcome home the lord of Lichfield.
A Trip To The Coast:
Tapete Records:
Out 10th March:
★★★★★★★★★☆
Thus, some five years after his last (forgotten) album, Pritchard has signed to German indie Tapete and promptly side-swiped most of its roster aside with a belter of an album in A Trip To The Coast. You know what to expect - dewy-eyed mellow pop straight out of the same stable as other contenders such as Stephen Duffy (he's not dissimilar vocally), previous cohort Ian Broudie (he produced Jolie) and Lloyd Cole, all delivered bilingually (mainly English although Tout Seul continues his affections for all things French) and effortlessly.
Amongst the ten offerings is the previously-issued Truly Blue, an old b-side (of In The Summer), given an orchestral buffing up - it's great to hear it again, all fresh as a daisy and rightly at the centre of the album. There are plenty of other highlights - Trentham tells a tale of Stoke in all its glory, the very fine Posters is a kitchen-sink drama and the closing title-track rounds off the half-hour in a woozy minor-key haze of longing and memories. Pure Pritchard personified.
It's about time this man garnered more than casual acknowledgement - after some success around Northern Europe since the '80s, Britain is finally ready to welcome home the lord of Lichfield.