Simon Raymonde
blame someone else
Bella Union/Setanta
Only the occasionally crystal-thick guitar wafting by is enough to remind us here of the Cocteau Twins as Simon takes us into his songwriting world, which is apparently more adventurous and genre-scopic than Cocteau's world. And yes, he sings, in non-gibberish (English, that is), with a timbre falling somewhere between Bowie or Peter Murphy (not near as deep) or a Moody Blues, add a wisp and a cup of tea.
Lots of pleasantness on hand with easy going comfortable tempos and a variety of sonic layering in arrangement and vocal treatments. Every once in a while I'm surprised by a splash of Gerry Rafferty, Sting, or maybe Mike and the Mechanics in a lyrical or polished way. Then abruptly, there's a Carpenters moment, but those aren't such bad memories I suppose. Then again, suddenly I realized this guy would make a great player for a band like Cocteau Twins. So much for unexpecting the expected.
Still, blame someone else is a worthwhile foray into the other side of Simon and does include several unique bright gems. Setanta Records, 94 East 7th Street, Lower Ground Level, New York, NY 10009; http://www.bellaunion.com
--Bryan Tilford
