Black
Box Recorder – England
Made Me
CD
Album, Reissue, U.S., 1999 (recorded in 1998)
Jetset
Records
Luke
Haines' work, generally, leaves me cold. I admire his wit and charm,
but I often feel that his songs are too forced upon. But his work
with co-writer / musician John Moore and the British Chanteuse Sarah
Nixey aka Black Box Recorder is another matter. I love them.
England
Made Me perhaps
named after an early Graham Greene novel, is gentle on the ears, but
the lyrics are biting, The beauty of the bored vocals mixed in with
the simple guitars and minimal arrangements add a large picture in
one's head. Sophisticated of course, and maybe a tad too much of a
tongue in cheek, but still its a warm album for me, even though the
band does it best to be distant and unemotional. But is that not a
seductive move? One can't over-estimate Nixey's talent in conveying
Haines or Moore's sarcastic lyrics. I think anyone else doing it,
will cheapen the affect. So Black Box Recorder is very much a
balanced act – where all their strengths are focused to make a very
'smart' sort of pop. Not many can carry this off, but Black Box
Recorder seems to do it effortlessly.
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