REVIEW: Popinjays, Tales From the Urban Prairie (Epic / One Little Indian)
- Martin Bate
Having never heard the Popinjays before, I can't vouch for what their previous two albums were like. The press release describes them as being whimsical pop with synthesised keyboard and drum sounds. This would mean that Tales is a definite change of direction.
So, what do we have ? Well, on the whole, it's female fronted accoustic pop-tinged with a little country and western and folk. The singer has a pure, clear voice - a little lacking in variety over the 10 tracks, but soothing on the ear.
At best, the songs approach the country-tinged laments that American Music Club made their name on, albeit with a fraction of Mark Eitzel's heart-tearing vocals and lyrics. The lyrical theme here is that of love and relationships - or to be more exact *a* relationship. Hint: even if all your lyrics *are* about the one relationship, don't make it sound that way. More variety means that people think you're a red-hot lover and they don't get bored so quickly with your six-form poetry. Anybody's 17 year-old sister could write the majority of the stuff here.
At worst, one or two songs approach the air-brushed whimsy that Wilson Philips (remember them ?) made their money on, but on average, they make clear, pleasant pop music which won't offend anyone and might even break a few hearts.
The two stand-outs are, unsurprisingly, the songs where we get a change of pace. "Feelin" comes in near the start as an upbeat drumless poppy number, and the album finishes off on "Drive the Train" - with its electric guitar, and gasping breathy vocals, its rough edges are more than welcome.
For fans of accoustic pop, this may be worth checking out.
