Day 0862 - Clandestino

Manu Chao "Clandestino" (1998)

This is one that sounded good on paper, but didn't necessarily pan out to my tastes. 

 

After the breakup of his punk-influenced band (Manu Negra), multilingual singer/songwriter Chao travelled around with a multi-track recorder.  Influenced by different street music, but flirting subtly with a range of other genres, he recorded his first solo album.

I'd heard Chao's name around the place and was keen to find out what he was about, but I'm reasonably apathetic with the actual record.

There's a bit of an overuse of syncopated reggae-style guitar, and I'm not really a fan of Chao's voice.  The music isn't bad, but I also don't think it's as diverse as advertised.   "Bongo Bong" is a quirky little pop song, and I quite like the bleeps and bloops of "Je ne t'aime plus", but in general the album didn't really excite me.

Day 0505 - Pelican West

Haircut One Hundred "Pelican West" (1982)

Another album that presents a certain familiar side of 80s pop.  Tame and glossy funk guitar licks, with smooth horns and roomy percussion hits.  Slightly melodramatic vocals sail over the top of it all to create something that feels polished and shiny, but with its emotional core as more of an act rather than something genuine.

If you're not too worried about earnestness in your music (it doesn't overly bother me), then this is an extremely well-constructed pop album, that even throws out some clever little musical left-turns every now and then.