Du Blonde
Lung Bread for Daddy
Moshi Moshi
Feb 21, 2019 Web Exclusive
Following a time of spiritual and musical rediscovery in Los Angeles and fresh from a successful side-gig as a music video director (for the likes of Ezra Furman and LUMP no less) Newcastle-Upon Tyne artist Beth Jeans Houghton has returned to her Du Blonde persona, older, wiser, and with a clutch of addictive, skillfully crafted songs.
High among the illuminations on this record are the slow, bar-closing blues of opener “Coffee Machine,” on which Houghton cries breathily for human connection—“I’d rather have the man than the coffee machine.”
The low-slung buzz of the delectably titled “Peach Meat” is an echoing, stark creature that morphs into a Pixies-rocker of no small stature with its wordless chorus and electrifying guitar and bass work. Meanwhile on the brief, simple, and gorgeous “Holiday Resort” Houghton vows “I don’t mind pretending if I get to hear your voice again” over a crackling, lonesome guitar.
Themes of loss and in particular lost love are equally prevalent on the vintage rock ‘n’ roll of “Angel” (“I hear your words of wisdom/I don’t know what they mean”), which kicks with a massive, sing-along refrain,.
One may find “Baby Talk” a little generic and throwaway and “Heaven Know” a little pedestrian despite its powerful “Can’t you see you’re killing me?” lyric, but there’s more of great value here than not. Live favorite “Acetone” is a shining ‘70s-styled gem and closer “On the Radio” is a rare and intimate meditation on depression (“I don’t want to go outside today”).
It’s an album full of sadness, mediated by Houghton’s sweet instrumentation and voice, heightened by a sense of solitude that permutes the entire record. (www.dublonde.co.uk)
Author rating: 7/10
Average reader rating: 8/10
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