Red Box Plenty (Cherry Red)
4/5
By: Tom Hocknell
Following the huge international success of singles ‘For America’ and ‘Lean on Me (ah-li-ayo)’ in 1985/6, Red Box stumbled, and disappeared from public view. Their absence lasted two decades, which is a long time in pop, but Red Box, effectively Simon Toulson-Clarke, has since found a new line up, and written this album over the past few years.
Plenty is a logical progression from 1990’s elegant Motive, which softened the grand, world music-flecked sound of their debut The Circle and the Square. Since then the always-solid songs have grown into intimate and reflective adult themes, at times like an acoustic take on the Beloved’s blissed-out pop .
They have also (if you’ll excuse pun) gone full circle by returning to their roots with the indie label Cherry Red, on whom they released their first singles, and in doing so found an imprint who have allowed them to follow their instincts. Like a Belle and Sebastian after too many cigars, these are gentle songs of love, spirituality and family.
Long-term collaborator Alistair Gavin returns for string arrangements, while the backing vocals of singer/songwriter Emily Maguire match Toulson-Clarke’s tenderness all the way. She even grabs a duet during ‘Hurricane’, which alongside ‘The Sign’, is closest to old hits such as ‘Chenko (tenka-io)’, with similarly phonetic lyrical lines. The acoustic ‘Without’ is typical of Toulson-Clarke’s grasp on poetic lyrics, with sombre strings and a sad sense that all is not well. In fact, the strings of the Balanescue quartet are powerful throughout, never more so than when underlining the vulnerability of love on the title track, and the warming highlight, ‘Brighter Blue’ with its Shakespearian imagery of ‘when blood runs dry and bones remain/still our hearts beat the same’
It drifts a little in the middle, with the mid-tempo pace failing to battle forgettable song titles, but is saved by the banjo-led country bravery of ‘Say what’s in your Head’, which as an entirely live take, segues into the ambient sounds of the street outside, while ‘Sacred Wall’ also shines with romance. The album closes with the more experimental ‘Never let it be Said’, which echoes their SPA project a few years back.
Plenty is a beautiful album, as out of time and place as the band have always been, even during their early flush of success. It has been released without much fanfare, which is a shame, as it will have an appreciative audience if they can find it.
Artists in this article: Red Box
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