Strange Love Letter

This is the fifth studio album from this low-profile band, formed way back in 1987. Clearly they prefer quality to quantity. With Will Merriman on barely-arsed vocals, it’s an enticing melange of indie, soul and country-folk, especially on tracks like ‘Life Just Put Her In My Way’. This is fine music. ‘Tombstone Eyes’ is one of the album’s more uplifting efforts, while ‘Punks, Maidens and Genitalia’ is attractively accessible, and ‘Friday Night Seance’ is as macabre as Nick Cave at his gravest. Indeed, the ghost of Cave hovers throughout. With piano and strings to hand, Merriman revels in doomed romanticism. File under uneasy listening.
KEY TRACK: ‘TOMBSTONE EYES’