Chris Singleton - Twisted City (album)
There is an artist (whos name escapes me sorry) who paints pictures using only words. If such a picture was painted for Chris Singleton it might some something like this:
Dublin
London
Lost
Tube
Revolver
Summer
Confusion
Rubber Soul
Part travel narrative, part confessional and part summer pop classic, Quirky (hes been gigging at tube stations to promote this release) Dublin troubadour Chris Singleton has created a (gulp) concept album based on his own hours spent trundling around the London Underground.
While on paper not a great idea, Singleton mixes the Piccadilly Line with the personal to great effect weaving interludes with strangers, mixed emotions about the city around him, as well as reflections on his days to create a classy sounding debut. Musically while featuring elements as diverse as sampled train noises and a sex pistols tribute band, the album overall, radiates a cool, late 60’s feel with uncluttered, r&b tinged powerpop being the main order of the day.
By turns Lennon and Ray Davies, Singleton has clearly absorbed some classy influences and the result is a fluid album that moves at a brisk and breezy pace through bittersweet laments, straight up r&b and even acoustic led ballads. A little variety in the song writing wouldn’t have gone amiss with one or two of the later tracks on offer here being facsimilies of earlier tracks but on the whole this is a record that with some justice should be topping a number of “undiscovered gems of 2006” charts come Christmas time.
Review by Ben Mainwaring