Rollo Doherty was/is in an excellent indie band called island (they write it ISLAND) and has an evocative voice.
This solo album obviously keeps the voice but loses the band – only “Sun Goes Down Behind Your House” is close to that sound – it’s mostly slower than the Island material.
I’m a massive fan of Island and this is merely good; slower, gentler and more impressionist, although it has its moments.
As the title and track name above suggest, Doherty began this short album, looking out of his bedroom window. It kicks off with a cinematic intro (“Intro”) before “Venus is a Flower”, a gentle tune with strings and a humming synth sounding like a bee (actually quite an earworm). Maybe inspired by Bjork’s “Venus is a Boy”? It’s got the same summery vibe to it.
“Papaya” opens with brass and is more upbeat, a little too chilled to be an Island track, then “It’s All Beautiful Rain” with a more trip hop / chillout feel, the kind of chilled background tune you might hear in a nice foreign bar on your summer holiday, making you even more relaxed.
“Little Bird” is acoustic and with strings, before “Sun Goes Down Behind Your House”, one of the more Island-like tracks. Then “Someone’s Gonna Break My Little Heart Tonight”, a track suggestive of bleakness while being upbeat; “The Day I Die” from Island’s “Feels Like Air” is the same.
A nice album, but more of a long EP, really, 25 minutes long. Try “Someone’s Gonna Break My Little Heart Tonight”.
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JMC
