Isobel Campbell - Milkwhite Sheets (V2)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Don't come to this after hearing Isobel Campbell's collaboration with Mark Lanegan expecting a record with any kind of sonic edge - there just isn't any. It's honey in your ears, musically, all the way through. Beginning to end. Honey. In your ears. Lanegan, that lone wolf of a man, was the person solely responsible for the grit of their Mercury nominated collaboration. Isobel's voice could sooth the flies Lanegan squished in their hotel room back to full health, and orchestrate their buzzing so it formed a lovely C sharp major chord.
And for a while, 'Milkwhite Sheets' is a boring record for that reason. The melodies are strong, they're sung beautifully, but there's so little bite it's like being licked by kittens - that is, when you listen to it in daylight hours and don't pay any attention to the lyrics. Yes, I once made the foolish mistake of playing this when the sun was shining. What a pile of soppy toss it was, too. Then, as the Earth turned on its axis and it became time to give it a spin in the dark, the record took on a whole new life. Now not distracted by the garish, vulgar pleasures of the daytime, here in my darkness, I could notice something a little bit more sinister about the melodies, something a little ominous. I had time to concentrate on the lyrics, now there was less to keep my beady eyes occupied. And on studying these, I came to the conclusion that Isobel Campbell is one dark girl.
This is a folk record. She sings it like someone from Pentangle, the strings sound like something off 'Bryter Later', the melodies are tried and true and born of fields. She really, really likes folk - and this comes across strongly. But this isn't namby pamby folk, it's murderous folk, jealous folk, scornful folk - songs full of loss, love, and lost love. And a bit of death.
Her voice, though it lacks any kind of grit or edge, is totally beautiful. If it was your little sister singing, you'd think she was the greatest singer of all time. It isn't your little sister, and you still think she's thoroughly incredible. Imagine how good her brothers think she is. Hopefully they don't fancy her though, as I do, after listening to her voice. I've no idea what she looks like. But she used to be in Belle and Sebastian, writes songs and sings them like this. That's good enough for me - as it is for many others, I'm sure.
Yes, it's samey. Especially in the daytime. Lucky then that at the minute it gets dark at about three in the afternoon, so any time's a good one to slip between Isobel's 'Milkwhite Sheets'.
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