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Echoboy
Giraffe
label: Mute
released: 02.25.03
our score: 3.0 out of 5.0
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I’ll
stick my neck out and say that this album is going nowhere. Giraffe
is the oddly named new CD from Echoboy, the guise taken on by
musical wizard Richard Warren. I’ll also stick my neck even
further out and say it’s a huge shame this won’t make
it big because Warren deserves to have his day in the sun. Maybe
it’s like his uncharacteristically poor album filler "Good
On TV" suggests with the line “It’s never gonna
happen to me/’Cause I don’t look good on TV.”
Warren has
always been hovering around one the verge of being one of the
biggest names in pop and rock, but it’s just never happened
to him. He was the lead singer in the incredibly talented band
The Hybirds, who were on the way to stardom when they split in
the late 1990s, and then Warren took a huge personal risk when
he turned down the chance to join Oasis so he could pursue a solo
career. So far that solo career has not come to anything anything
like as big as a giraffe’s neck, but Giraffe holds
plenty of hidden secrets that you can seek out for yourself if
you get hold of a copy. The
new single, "Automatic Eyes," is a bright enough start,
but flick your remote on a while to come across the real gems.
Warren’s
northern accent would have been at home backing Oasis, but it
also sounds well accompanying well-chosen samples, excellent bass
and thrashing guitars on the incredible "Wasted Spaces."
"Lately Lonely" is another that captures the imagination,
performed in the style of an 80s disco track with cheesy bells
and a rhythm that would make Jimmy Sommerville happy. And while
some of the experimental nature of Giraffe falls a bit
flat (see "Fun In You" and "High Speed in Love"),
much of this pioneering artist’s work is very accessible
and no more so than "Don’t Destroy Me," which steadily
samples and loops its way towards a solid climax.
Giraffe
is indeed an interesting creature. You don’t see many animals
like this around on the High Street, and when you do you feel
you have to approach with caution. But it won’t bite, and
if you take this Giraffe home it may well teach you to
look at your musical collection a little differently. Warren has
worked with the likes of Doves and Luke Slater and has just completed
a brief UK tour of his own. Check out Giraffe, there is
a lot on there that needs to be heard. Alas, if you do check it
out you will be in the minority and that means Richard Warren
will still have to wait for it to happen to him.
20-Jan-2003
1:17 PM
If you
liked Giraffe...
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Tracklist:
1.
Automatic Eyes
2. Don't Destroy Me
3. Comfort Of The Hum
4. Summer Rhythm
5. High Speed In Love
6. Fun In You
7. Lately Lonely
8. Good On T.V.
9. Wasted Spaces
10. Nearly All The Time
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