BELLERUCHE - Turntable Soul Music

BELLERUCHE - Turntable Soul Music (Tru Thoughts) Comentários: A union between vocalist Kathrin deBoer, guitarist Ricky Fabulous (not the name on his birth certificate, I’ll wager) and DJ Modest (ditto, at a guess), Belleruche's debut album – a product of 'late nights, broken leads, strange ideas and old records' – does a pretty good job of evoking the pleasure of the first wave of what was then quaintly referred to as trip hop, but without the paranoia. Under their own subgenre of 'handmade hip hop blues soul', the best thing about the music here is that these are living and breathing songs not just studio confections. Turntable Soul Music works well when it is at its most minimal – the ballads, “Balance” and “13:6:35” are lovely things, showcasing deBoer's voice (which, evidently ‘carries the soul of the wind off the cape mixed with the grit of illegal Polynesian rum bars’) at its least mannered. Fabulous’ guitar on “Alice” has a lovely fuzz-drenched muzziness to it; the sixties beat-meets-noughties beats of “Bought and Sold” is both clever and danceable. Not so great is “Minor Swing” which overdoes a swing band loop – it’s all a bit Mr Scruff from an age ago. At best, Turntable Soul Music calls to mind the makers' objective – swooning blues for the later evening. At worst, it recalls a half empty tent on a Saturday afternoon at an anonymous festival. File under ‘curious’. in bbc online [Para Ouvir]