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Apr 19, 2023 Web Exclusive By Ian Rushbury

Andy Bell’s Strange Loops and Outer Psyche is a bit of a strange beast. It’s a compilation of three previously released EPs with the addition of four new tunes. In spite of that, it hangs together pretty well. Bell’s vocal style is redolent of Ian Brown of The Stone Roses, which is either a very good thing or a very bad thing depending on how slick you like your singers to be. Bell wisely lets the music do the talking for the most part, which was probably the best option.

Strange Loops and Outer Psyche is a very apposite title for this collection as most of the material here is based on minimal ambient drones. “Our Last Night Together” is a great example with an insistent pulse and an entry level piano motif combining to great effect.

It’s a brave man who takes on a Yoko Ono cover version but Bell’s take on “Listen, the Snow is Falling” is lovely. His rather winsome voice is a perfect fit. Elsewhere you get cute acoustic versions of some of his previously released material. They’re hardly essential recordings, but they’re really rather good. “Love is the Frequency” is a charming Kinks/Beatles hybrid and works beautifully as a solo voice and guitar tune.

Strange Loops and Outer Psyche is a neat way to fill the gap between proper releases and it manages to occupy a similar space to The Smiths’ Hatful of Hollow. A combination of stuff you know with some stuff you really should listen to. (www.andybell.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 7/10