Liejacker
"There's nothing original,
Not even original sin"
It isn't easy championing a relatively obscure act, especially when there's a much more commercially successful facsimile doing the rounds that the radio shamelessly plugs at every opportunity. Have pity then for Thea Gilmore, a staggering talent who deserves to dwarf KT Tunstall in terms of airplay and sales, but doesn't because Tunstall turned up on Later with Jools Holland with a half-baked one-woman-band gimmick, thus leaving a lasting impression on the easily impressed.
While Thea Gilmore may no longer be the creative force she was during the first half of this decade (Rules for Jokers and Avalanche are two of my favouite albums of the last twenty years), Liejacker confirms that when the muse flows through her, she can still stand head and shoulders above any contemporary singer songwriter, even when she decodes to go on a more downbeat and folky route like she does on this album.
Liejacker is not without its highlights though, as opener "Old Soul" finds her in a surprisingly effective duet with that bloke from The Zutons and no less a folk cliche than Joan Baez provides backing vocals here and there (take that Kate Rusby!). It's interesting to note however that the albums most memorable moment is Gilmores slyly effective cover of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round", which I suppose shows that Gilmore may be running low on original ideas, but at least it also shows she still knows her way around an effective cover version.
This is easily Gilmore's most laid back album and certainly her folkiest in a while and although this is no bad thing, I hope that she finds the vigour and attack of her best material soon before she gets totally overlooked by the taste makers.
"You don't need a match to get your fingers burned"
Not even original sin"
It isn't easy championing a relatively obscure act, especially when there's a much more commercially successful facsimile doing the rounds that the radio shamelessly plugs at every opportunity. Have pity then for Thea Gilmore, a staggering talent who deserves to dwarf KT Tunstall in terms of airplay and sales, but doesn't because Tunstall turned up on Later with Jools Holland with a half-baked one-woman-band gimmick, thus leaving a lasting impression on the easily impressed.
While Thea Gilmore may no longer be the creative force she was during the first half of this decade (Rules for Jokers and Avalanche are two of my favouite albums of the last twenty years), Liejacker confirms that when the muse flows through her, she can still stand head and shoulders above any contemporary singer songwriter, even when she decodes to go on a more downbeat and folky route like she does on this album.
Liejacker is not without its highlights though, as opener "Old Soul" finds her in a surprisingly effective duet with that bloke from The Zutons and no less a folk cliche than Joan Baez provides backing vocals here and there (take that Kate Rusby!). It's interesting to note however that the albums most memorable moment is Gilmores slyly effective cover of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round", which I suppose shows that Gilmore may be running low on original ideas, but at least it also shows she still knows her way around an effective cover version.
This is easily Gilmore's most laid back album and certainly her folkiest in a while and although this is no bad thing, I hope that she finds the vigour and attack of her best material soon before she gets totally overlooked by the taste makers.
"You don't need a match to get your fingers burned"