| EMI
Music | Out now
Richard
Swift has been garnering some fantastic press in the UK with his new
album Dressed Up For the Letdown and its easy to see why - it's bloody
brilliant.
From
its decidedly retro cover (think a cross between Patrick McGoohan's
Prisoner and a Spaghetti Western) to the music contained within - this a
glorious affair. After having his fingers burned with his previous two
albums many have put forward Dressed Up as Swift's cynical dig at the
music business and some of that is true especially on Artist and
Repertoire and Ballad of You Know Who but its a heck of lot more
intricate than that.
Many
of the UK reviewers have been comparing him to Harry Nillson and Van
Dyke Parks but he's not that easy to pin down, like Karl Wallinger,
Swift is doing his best to evoke a timeless feel, the album sounds
organic and could have been recorded anytime since 1969, there is even
tape hiss and background crackle on a couple of tracks.
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