Nigel of Bermondsey - London Dreamtime
If, like myself, you've been to totally oblivious to the whys and wherefores of one Nigel from Bermondsey, then let me take a short, but chunky, paragraph to give a brief reprise of his career to date which, as a solo performer, has offered a more than respectful social commentary observing inner city life from the nation's capital.
Nigel Hoyle is a singer/songwriter who (in case you hadn't guessed it from the title of the record) clearly has a lot of love for Bermondsey. For the doubters, this can be confirmed by looking closely at the sleeve notes in this his sophomore release, which conclude with a request to 'bury my heart in Bermondsey, that's where I wants to be, there's them up above and them down below, and there's me in between'. And why not eh? Before going solo Hoyle first came to light at the turn of the decade as a founding member of one of the last real Britpop acts, Gay Dad. Within his time in the band he enjoyed a modest amount of chart success, and whilst touring extensively supported the likes of Robbie Williams, Ben Folds Five and the Stranglers. After they disbanded he went on to collaborate with Freelance Hellraiser where he's provided mixes for Christina Aguilera, Snow Patrol as well as writing a track for the Ian Brown remix album. From here and just before going solo, he spent a short time working with former Longpig's, Dylan Rippon and Crispin Hunt, but there's not a lot of information on that one, so maybe another story for another day.
With The Independent taking a real shine to his 'absorbing and intriguing' self titled debut record, and a nomination on XFM's Newcomer of the Year 2009 Award, there was always going to be interest to see how its predecessor would pan out. 'London Dreamtime', which was recorded in a small room just off the Walworth Road, tells tales of local shootings, artistic dilution, genocide, love and lust, which when all are done and dusted, it leaves us just enough time for Nigel to sing about erm...rats???
I'm not really sure this record will change lives, eradicate famines, or lead to a cure for cancer, but it's definitely a solid little release, which is something I would imagine Nigel will be happy to talk about at family gatherings for years to come. Making him a bit of a ledge' amongst colleagues and comrades, which should in turn upgrade him to A-list status, thus ensuring he's a must have guest at weekend dinner parties throughout the borough of Southwark. When the Vino is flowing and the Tracy Chapman album finishes, it's a no brainer who's going to be itching to perform, and even if he's not quite on song for that particular evening, I've no doubt that anecdotes and short stories about Robbie Williams' touring exploits are sure to act as a solid back-up plan when all else fails.
Ok, so maybe here I'm being a little over indulgent in the act of sarcasm, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that for me, this record is just a little short of the mark to make real ripples. In theory though, everything is in place...a wide variety of subject matters considered, delivered with a pitch perfect vocal performance duelled with fairly melodic and sprightly backing tracks...but somewhere deep inside, it just transcends into a bit of a cliché in places and the whole thing turns scarily apt for department store musak...like on the cover version of Inspiral Carpets' 'This Is How It Feels', which encapsulates my whole issue. Listen yourself and I'm sure you'll understand what I mean...think Father Ted...think 'My Lovely Horse'. I'm going to put it down to production budget constraints and not even flirt with the whole karaoke implications that could well be associated.
It's not all negative though, parts are strong and adamant, like album opener 'Castle of Evil' which is reminiscent of the psychedelia of the sixties and seventies, mirroring modern day bands which are prolonging that scene such as the likes of Mercury Rev or MGMT, so that can't be a bad thing. Also, you'll find pepperings of both the Manics or even Mansun on later tracks, which all congeal together make for an interesting listen, so I guess if any of these acts mentioned in this review light your fire, then it'd be well worth making that trip to Bermondsey.