Amazon.co.uk Review
The first solo album from ex-
Wedding Present singer David Gedge, Cinerama's
Va Va Voom saw the swarthy singer try to loosen ties with his past. Gone were the layers of guitars. In their place were Lightning Seeds-esque keyboards and a sound that owed far more to the symphonic pop of
Burt Bacharach than to Gedge's former indie heroes Edwyn Collins'
Orange Juice. For its follow-up,
Disco Volante, Gedge has called in old Weddoes (and Nirvana/Shellac) producer Steve Albini--and the result is a sound that lies halfway between his new-found pop sensibility and the old abrasion. Accordions, brass and strings flesh out the layers of guitar on songs like the tender single "Lollobrigida", while the soaring "Let's Pretend" recalls the Franco-pop of Stereolab in Sally Murrell's backing vocals. Gedge is still the unrequited romantic: obsessed with love in all its myriad forms, whether organic ("Heels", "Your Charms") or more ethereal (the exhilarating rush of "Wow"). This is an album that should please both old fans and new.
--Jerry Thackray