The Blow Monkeys: Feels Like a New Morning

England's own The Blow Monkeys have been around for over thirty years now, but if Feels Like a New Morning is any indication, the band's desire to have fun hasn't ceased a second. This album—the group's third since their 2008 reunion in Devil's Tavern—is a wholly relaxed, easy-breezy collection of jazz-accented pop rock where everything is rooted in pop fundamentals. Verse/chorus is the name of the game, the production is crisp and pleasing to the ear, and, most importantly, everyone sounds like they're having a really good time. To wit, a good number of these tracks, especially the tropical "Oh My," sound like they're taking their cues from whoever does the soundtrack to Burn Notice; a Mai Tai and a Tommy Bahama shirt are ideal companions to a spin of this CD.

But enjoyable though Feels Like a New Morning is, it's hardly substantive. There's little deviation from formula here; it's all done well, yes, but it still never really rises above the level of aural cheap carbs. The lyrics don't do The Blow Monkeys any favors either: the already-worn Icarus trope drags down the otherwise great chorus of the gospel-inspired "Icarus in Flames," and the amount of clichés here—including liberal usage of "they say" wisdom—is a little more than irksome. What makes Feels Like a New Morning enjoyable, however, is not its musical complexity but its soufflé-light effervescence. For a summer pop album that's easy on the ears, try waking up to this Morning.

Note: The 2CD version of Feels Like a New Morning, which comes in a nicely put together digipak, also includes an album's worth of acoustic interpretations of The Blow Monkey's back catalogue, which will prove to be of considerable interest for fans of the band.

Track Listing

1. Oh My
2. Feels Like a New Morning
3. Cover Me
4. Chained
5. Said too Much
6. Icarus in Flames
7. That's Not Right
8. In No Time at All
9. Shake it Off
10. Hold Everything Dear

Added: June 26th 2013
Reviewer: Brice Ezell
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2131
Language: english

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