Brief! Clocking it at not much more than a half an hour. Clearly brevity is the soul of wit. Welsh Italian rock and pop session bass king Pino Palladino who was on such classics as Paul Young’s ‘Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)’ has already worked with Santa Monica born guitarist Blake Mills on 2021’s Notes With Attachments an album that fell under many people’s radar, my own included, in that dread lockdown time. The established style is kind of jazzy electronica, pretty laidback and under conversational in the main. There’s lots of texture and patches of lush arrangement that avails of a lot of detailed production work involving the guests. Additional personnel include Chris Dave, Abe Rounds, Dory Bavarsky, Steve Jordan and Pino’s son Rocco Palladino.
There are hints of bossa nova on ‘Somnabulista’ and a new agey vibe takes proceedings by the scruff of the neck on ‘Taka’. The big track in terms of length is ‘Heat Sink’ which is also clearly the major achievement of the album which was recorded over a two-month stay at the Los Angeles studio Sound City Studios that Mills co-owns. Not overly dramatic and certainly not reliant on playing to any obvious formula or procession of soloists there’s a lot to like here.
Palladino and Mills play The Gate, Cardiff on 7 October
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Talkline, Growing Pains, Milk Man EP ***1/2
Words matter. Experiencing the fuller Talkline further joins the dots between poignant 1970s-like singer-songwritery that’s rooted in a liking for John Martyn and Labi Siffre and a more up to the minute jazz sensibility. Growing Pains is quite touching especially ‘I Can See.’
The “art of the prompt”
“My arse” – Jim Royle would have responded. But the jig will be well and truly up come that *happy day* when opinion itself can be faked by AI.
