REVIEW: Tim Burtn-esque album offers new sound
Ed Harcourt makes his way onto the music scene with his debut album, “Here Be Monsters.” This new sound emulates the quiet-is-the-new-loud feeling other bands like Coldplay have been bringing in. After a few unfortunate incidents dealing with bee attacks and clowns, Harcourt seems ready to show this business what he is made of.
“Here Be Monsters” is the follow-up to Ed Harcourt’s debut mini-album “Maplewood,” and shows the singer and songwriter developing further on the gentle melancholy of his previous efforts.
The opener, Something in My Eye, begins modestly as a strummed acoustic number, but gradually builds into an inspiring orchestral yearning.
“The song God Protect Your Soul combines an anguished lament (“I need to build a wall around me”) with bluesy harmonica and trumpets to create the kind of rambling lyrics and off-kilt melodies a piano-led Elliot Smith might make,” said Caroline Butler, Amazon.com CD reviewer.
Beneath The Heart of Darkness starts in a similar fashion, but about one-third of the way into the song it slips off into a sound mash of guitars and radio interference, then it drifts back again to its gentle lullaby.
She Fell into My Arms is a lush lament which lays bare the guilt trips lovers put on each other. Hanging with the Wrong Crowd is a waltzing nursery rhyme which captures the awkward feelings of growing up.
Harcourt never loses focus, keeping staggering melodies and stylistic radiance at the forefront. The more intense things get, the better they become.
This is an excellent album full of diverse tunes with strong melodies and poetic lyrics. The album is full of subtle and quirky rifts and leads that uplift you from the outset. It’s basically pop, but Ed’s musical style is not easy to define.
There is an 80s feel to some of the tracks. On others the vocals sound a little like Soft Cell, but not as exaggerated. Most songs have crisp clear and catchy melodies such as Birds Fly Backwards and She Fell into My Arms, which are two of the best on the album.
There is a lot of quality material and it’s genuinely catchy. It’s a great debut which deserves to do well. Although the atmosphere of this album seems dark at times, its Tim Burton-esque style can easily be listened to in any mood.
“Listen to the songs when drunk, sober, happy or sad and they will make sense,” Harcourt said, in his recent biography.