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Review: Jack Foley
BAXTER Drury follows up his acclaimed debut album, Len Parrott's
Memorial Lift, with the equally accomplished Floor Show
- a long-player that positively drips in style.
Narratively, it seems to be about a disintegrating relationship,
although this is no dreary confessional, or lament to lost love.
Rather, it's an uplifting and frequently enchanting listen that
combines some retro flavours with a laidback feel that's epitomised
by the whispery vocals and floating guitar style.
The PR refers to it as 'narcotic music that predates trip hop
by a good 60 years' and it's a fitting description, for this is
a stoner's delight, as well as a chill out alt-rock classic in
the making.
Highlights include the rousing opener, Francesca's Party,
with its upbeat drum loops and whining guitar loops that recall
a different era.
Or the offbeat Cocaine Man, which includes an interesting
Mike Skinner-like piece of social commentary during the verses
that gives way to a stoner-style chorus of soothing, whispered
vocals.
Former download-only single, Lisa Said, is another beauty, featuring
a semi-orchestral backdrop and more glorious guitar riffs that
delight in their classic simplicity.
But the album, as a whole, feels very retro, flitting between
the 60s psychedelia of The Beach Boys and The Beatles and the
more modern likes of Bowie and George Harrison.
Sister Sister, in particular, manages to combine some
guitar riffs right out of Harrison's songbook, while the lyrics
sound like 80s-era Bowie - the chorus, especially, frequently
feels as though it might veer into 'we could be Heroes, just for
one day'.
The title track, too, opens with a guitar loop that recalls the
heyday of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, before breaking into
a vocal style that immediately suggests Super Furry Animals.
And yet the album still manages to sound distinctive enough to
stand out on its own, confirming Drury and fellow band members
- Damon Reece (drums) and Mike Mooney (electric guitar) - as serious
performers in their own right.
Reece and Mooney were, of course, both former members of Spiritualized,
so it's little wonder to find that some of the music is distinctly
epic in vibe, as well as a touch spaced out or dreamy.
Some of it will probably take a few listens to properly appreciate,
but for anyone willing to give into its irresistible charms, then
Floor Show delivers the goods in spades.
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