release date: Aug. 1982
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Pat Bermingham [recorded by]
label: Cherry Red Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Small Town Girl" - 2. "Simply Couldn't Care" - 4. "Femme Fatale" - 5. "Dreamy" - 7. "New Opened Eyes" - 8. "Too Happy"
Studio solo debut album by former Marine Girls vocalist, guitarist and composer Tracey Thorn is a relatively short album counting 8 compositions and a total running time at only 23 mins. All songs except the Velvet Underground cover "Femme Fatale" (by Lou Reed) are written by Thorn, and the arrangements are stripped down to Thorn singing on top of her strumming acoustic guitar all recorded as is by Pat Bermingham, who also produced the debut Beach Party by Marine Girls.
Stylistically, it follows closely in the patterns played by Marine Girls and it also forecasts the later works by Everything but the Girl. It's far from the early 1980s post-punk agenda, and it comes out as something completely on its own terms - far from contemporary genres and styles and just is plain folk pop and singer / songwriter compositions in minimal outing.
It's a quite pleasant collection of tunes albeit staying much on the same path. Thorn's singing capabilities makes it all worth and shines through an ever-present melancholy like sun-spots in a summer's rain. "Femme Fatale" is great with Nico but this version is even stronger.
The front cover art work is btw credited band member Jane Fox of Marine Girls.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]
