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Andy VotelStyles of the Unexpected Twisted Nerve/XL Andy Votel is the boss of trendy Manc record label Twisted Nerve. He has remixed songs by artists such as Ian Brown and Death in Vegas. He is Badly Drawn Boy's producer. He is a graphic designer (The album cover was designed by him). He does DJ sets in clubs. And now with the release of this debut mini-album he is a solo artist in his own right. When I first listened to this mini-album I have do admit I was a little disappointed...In keeping with album's title it was not what I had expected. That was because I made the stupid mistake of expecting this album to be sound like Badly Drawn Boy. But when I had another few listens of the album I started to enjoy it for what it was. Andy isn't a singer so the only two tracks on the album with vocals are 2 and 7 with guest singers. The album is certainly more sound than vocal driven and where vocals do appear don't expect a strong verse, chorus, verse, chorus or anything like that. The sounds of the sea are used on parts of this album, I don't know if this is evidence of Badly Drawn Boy's influence on Andy Votel or vice versa but in that respect there is a similarity between the two. Return Of The Spooky Driver is a smashing tune, probably the best on the album, and it changes from slow to fast more times then I care to count. It builds up from gentle, airy sounds to a toe taping tempo, that would expect from a dance floor filler and back again. Similar to Radiohead's Kid A this album has a very unusual sound that defies convention. However the album doesn't sound at all like Radiohead, with the exception of Lee Gorton's mumbly vocals at the start of RiderBrow which remind me of Thom Yorke's on parts of Kid A. Any set formula or idea for what music should sound like is thrown out the window and is replaced by a unique and creative approach to the process of making music. 7/10 Niall De Buitlear Track Listing:
1. Urbanite Rocks |
