Let’s play six degrees of separation, shall we? Let’s see, Brookville’s main man is Andy Chase. Chase and Adam Schlesinger are both in Ivy. Then, Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood form the nucleus of Fountains of Wayne. Of course, Chris and I played at Baybeats together in August! 5 degrees!
Pardon my self-indulgence but I always need to keep things interesting when reviewing CDs. Fact is, I’ve been criminally negligent in taking so long in reviewing Broken Lights as it is a sumptous album that every serious Pop enthusiast will thrill to. Think of Broken Lights as a loving paean to all things British indie twee pop married with muscular melodicism of 80s blue-eyed soul-pop. A perfect combination, believe me!
Did I just say, soulful and twee? Yep! Sure, Chase and co never quicken the pace too much but this album contains enough jazz-inflected, soft-pop channeling R&B nuggets that bridges both sides of the Atlantic to make this appealing to the US pop underground and the British indie dance scene.
From start to finish, the songs are immaculate as Chase creates his own world of Rhodes keyboards, spidery fretplay, Spectoresque percussion and breathy vocals, which will easily transport the unsuspecting listener to bliss. Highly recommended.
