Echobelly
On
»
Echobelly
On
Sony, 1995
RiYL: Catatonia, Elastica, Lush, Sleeper |
The band's second CD, On, is a fine collection of well-written and meaningful songs without the disgust and haughty attitudes that seem to permeate so much of the current crop of British music.
Echobelly's charm is provided by vocalist Sonya Aurora Madan, who sounds very much like Ivy's Dominque Durand. The songs, written by both Madan and band co-founder Glenn Johansson, flow smoothly throughout.
Madan's lyrics are striking, although not necessarily addressing the same big issues that dominated Echobelly's first album, Everyone's Got One. The sensational "Great Things,'' with rip-roaring riffs and sharp hooks from Johansson, finds Madan singing about the search for happiness in lines such as "I want to do great things, I don't want to compromise / I want to know what love is, I want to try everything."
Madan turns to an impassioned tone on "Natural Animal,'' while the sly "Pantyhose And Roses'' examines a sex scandal involving a British parliament member and a prostitute from the perspective of both parties. "Four Letter Word" contains another infectious introduction by Johansson and fiery lyrics by Madan, while "Nobody Like You'' sees Madan lamenting her own sexual urges.
Lush, dreamy melodies carry "Dark Therapy'' and closing track "Worms and Angels.'' Again, Madan's delectable voice propels the fertile instrumentation behind her on these tracks, as well as "King Of The Kerb,'' another song reportedly about prostitutes.
Echobelly's sound is inventive if for no other reason than the departure from the trademark thin sound perpetuated by British groups like Blur and Elastica. Johansson's tremolo-filled guitar work is rumored to have been the inspiration for the fuzzed guitars played by Peter Buck in R.E.M.'s Monster-era incarnation. Thankfully absent from On are the annoying, overused affectations sometimes impossible to avoid in British music.
The songs are irresistible and fresh. Check it out.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"