| The
Charlatans Wonderland (MCA Records) |
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It becomes slightly harder to objectively review someone’s work after you even remotely kind of know them. I’d be hard pressed, and delusional, to call myself Tim Burgess’ friend, or even an acquaintance of his. After interviewing The Charlatans warm and friendly lead singer and seeing him around at a few shows, however, I find it a little hard to criticize their latest album. That is the problem rock journalists face when getting too close to a band they are covering (see Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous for evidence of that). Luckily, Wonderland does have a lot going for it. |
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| What
takes a little getting used to is Tim Burgess’ new Curtis
Mayfield inspired falsetto vocals. At once embarrassing and bold,
this new approach signals a definitive change of direction for
the band. Their last album, 1999’s Us and Us Only, was
a stripped down Bob Dylan influenced affair. Bar the fabulous
single “Forever,’ it was a disappointing record,
especially when considering their solid track record preceding. Wonderland is an obvious return to form, even if it is a little self-conscious in its attempts to experiment with the band’s sound. The band’s signature organ (as on “Weirdo”) is less prevalent here. On the sweet “A Man Needs to Be Told,” slide guitar infects the background before a drum and bass beat takes over at the end. First single, “Love Is the Key,” has the same anthem-like qualities shared by previous hits “One to Another” and “How High.” Even though the dark, bass heavy, finale of “Ballad of the band” is Wonderland’s standout track, this album mainly has a warmer and sunnier feel, no doubt inspired by Burgess’ somewhat recent move to LA. Overall, this album sounds like it was fun to make and is a pleasure to listen to. Whether or not being starstruck clouds my review is unknown to me. |
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8
blips out of 10
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By
Mark Redfern
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