Blancmange - Blanc Burn (Proper)
Missing-in-action for twenty-five-odd years, Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe (Blancmange) return with an album that sounds remarkably like classic Blancmange. Arthur's Lancastrian brogue remains central to their anomalous electronic pop style, and brings both an earthy realism and an indisputable identity to the proceedings. He's also brought some excellent songs with him. Both "The Western" and "By The Bus Stop @ Woolies" wouldn't have sounded out of place on 1982's "Happy Families" collection and "I'm Having A Coffee" is as wonderfully mundane as the title suggests; as is "Don't Forget Your Teeth".
When it looks as if they're going to get all popstar and celebrity girlfriend on our behinds, it's marginally disappointing to discover that the uncharacteristically titled "Stardiddler" (title changed to save Amazon's blushes) isn't even remotely connected to the Rolling Stones' "Star Star". Apart from that minor frustration, it's all good. |
