Kategorie: CD-Reviews | Genre: Artpop/Pop | Heft: Jahrgang 2013, eclipsed Nr. 152 / 7-8-2013 | VÖ-Jahr: 2013 | Wertung: 8/10 | Label: Belly Up | Autor: SaS
The first song sets the direction right away: A sentimental, almost pathetic ballad that draws the image of a man watching flocks of birds over the Brighton Pier darken the sun. Not only this picture, but the whole atmosphere of the song and last but not least the voice of singer Paul Noonan remind of the opener of Elbow's "The Seldom Seen Kid". And in this context it goes on: Bell X1 plumbs all kinds of melancholy. The piano chart "Diorama" paints the picture of a fragmenting relationship in such an overwhelming density that one feels like an uninvited guest in the life of the characters. Sometimes vocals and arrangements remind of (better) eighties pop à la Rod Stewart. But this contributes to the overall picture of an album that doesn't even try to write down feelings or break them ironically, but unfolds freely in front of the listener, so that he can no longer free himself from his pull. "We wanted to make the songs rich and robust, without taking away the fragile intimacy that actually distinguishes them," Noonan reports.
Top Track: Starlings Over Brighton Pier
