First nothing for eight odd years, now we’ve been provided with two albums within a year and change. And a new album is already in the making. We have all the luck.
RÓISÍN MURPHY TAKE HER UP TO MONTO (Play it again, Sam)
There is nothing predictable about Róisín Murphy. On this, her fourth solo effort, my Irish Avantgarde Disco Goddess’ eclectic journey takes on an musical vaudeville kind of turn, where everything is possible and nothing’s out of bounds. Pretty much as it was on last year’s sister album Hairless Toys, but THUTM is the wildling sibling, for sure.
Whether it is the part of a cabaret crooner in the raunchy Pretty Gardens or the disco bossa connoisseur in Lip Service, she takes it to heart and not only embodies it, but also makes these unlikely contributions completely natural ingredients in the lovely turmoil that is Ms. Murphy’s musical mastermind. But could it be that since I’ve learned to expect the unexpected, I find this not to be that out of bounds. I’m not flabbergasted anymore, which also differs this from its magnificent, more refined sister. Still, as always, I’m delighted.
While the two last tracks are way too elusive to be fully grasped, she compensates by being so on point and poignant throughout the rest of the album, that she’s forgiven. I mean, Thoughts Wasted with its vast and various layers of musical splendor and spoken word epilogue – it’s weird and brilliant. And Mastermind, mesmerizing in its vibrant electronic nu-disco sphere and personal self reflecting. Or Ten Miles High‘s unsettling stop-and-start beats and airy, bouncy 80’s pop is gorgeousness in all its glory.
Ms. Murphy proves yet again, that she is a true pop star, as she continues to explore and create musical landscapes, that rarely is heard nowadays, but is needed nonetheless. In spades.
