Martin Carr, born in Scotland but raised in Wallasey on the Wirral, was the chief songwriter and lead guitarist with the British band, The Boo Radleys who had a UK no.1 album Wake Up! In 1995, not to mention the mega hit single ‘Wake Up Boo!’.

Ye Gods (and little fishes) sees the return of Carr after a decade of exploring the more experimental waters of electronic music and this is the first record to be released under his own name.

The opening to this album, ‘The Dead Of Winter’, is upbeat, catchy and quite uplifting. The vocals are lively and I especially like the guitar rhythm mixed with flourishes of brass for good measure.

Miles away from the sound of the first track ‘Darwin's Tree’ has a country and western feel to it. It’s slow and has a depressing sound. The organ really puts a downturn on this song and I’m not sure I like this style!

The harmonies on the vocals of ‘Bear Lake’ are great, the lead of Carr mixed with the female vocals go really well. It’s a shame it’s so slow, I feel it needs winding up to bring some life into this tune.

‘Pontcanna Stone’ has to be the most depressing song on this album, its slow, slow, slow! It feels like no one can be bothered to play; the drums are slow, the guitar is ‘whiny’ and there is just no depth to the vocals.

‘Goldrush’ is a little lighter and at least has a bit of a tempo, although it’s far from being a happy song it is certainly more enjoyable than the previous. There is a very delicate sound to this track and then at 4 mins, 23 secs a deep and rough guitar riff comes into play. This song is not unlike a song recorded by Shed 7, ‘Going For Gold’. The main difference between them? Well Shed 7 is a much happier, livelier up beat sound whereas ‘Goldrush’ is dreary and slow in comparison.

There is still hope with ‘Orpheus Lament’; this is a lively, upbeat track, which certainly woke me up after listening to the rest of the songs. The brass is quite nostalgic and Carr’s vocals actually have some depth and life to them.

‘Running’ reverts back to the slow, lifeless sound that seems to run as a theme on the most part of this album. It’s depressing and to be honest dull and boring.

‘Why You Gotta Bring Me All This Rain?’ is yet another ‘whiny’ song, which is moaning and complaining. The vocals and style of the song reminded me of a much slower version of The Shangri-Las 1964 ‘Leader of the Pack’ but of course it has nothing on that single, it’s only a slight comparison.

‘Tired and Broke and Black and Blue’ is an apt name for a song on this album, as I feel tired and black and blue from just listening to it. This is a slow tune and to be honest I’m getting fed up of being whined at and moaned to, can we not have a little optimism here?

‘The Golden Key’ is again slow but it has a chilled sound to it. The guitar and percussion actually sit well on this track and the vocals are good with the harmony in the background. It finally finishes off the album quite nicely it’s just a shame about the rest of the songs.

I am thoroughly disappointed after listening to this album. I was hoping I would have heard some lively feel good tunes but to be honest all I heard was moans and groans. I think all of the happiness Martin Carr had was sapped away when he did the feel good tune ‘Wake Up Boo!’

A very disappointing album.

4

Helena Rea