Pellumair – Summer Storm Tugboat TUGCD035
You may remember me recently ruminating on the subject of buying unknown records by judging the cover artwork. I omitted to mention the topic of the importance of naming – both artist and album.
When I was sent this record and saw the name of the group, the name of the record and the cover art, my immediate reaction was to reach for a bucket. So it was with somewhat of a handicap that I sat down to review the disc.
I wasn’t helped in this ordeal when I discovered it to be a semi-acoustic album of the singer-songwriter type – perhaps a bit folky – maybe even folksy. But, intrepid to the end I endured to the end of the eleventh and final challenging track. And, d’you know what? It wasn’t half bad really.
I will say it’s not the type of thing I’d personally rush out to buy but the music was pleasant, relaxing – maybe a little dreamy, I’d say. Stronger than wallpaper – one was forced to listen quite often rather than allowed to drift off while the sounds wafted over one’s head. There was plenty of inventive variation in tempo and mood – sometimes a Latin flavour, sometimes quite poppy – to maintain the attention and wonder what was coming next. Now quite downbeat, then a bit whizzy. Here a bit haunting like the music from ‘Twin Peaks’, there more whistful like Simon & Garfunkel, setting off with Cathy to look for America.
So, grudgingly, I have to admit that despite all my prejudices and objections this is a rather splendid album and should bring the group into the popular consciousness – if only they’d change their dreadful name!
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