Hollie Cook has that high voice so beloved of classic lover’s rock singers – and fans. The accompaniments could have come from more or less any time in the last fifty years or so (try the closing We Share Love) though always with a subtle contemporary sensibility and so avoiding a simple retro appeal, there are those slight hints of smooth soul from time to time, and songs that are just ready made for the market – and do please read all those statements as positives! This is her fifth studio album since her debut almost a decade and a half ago – which also was released by Mr. Bongo.
A co-production by Hollie and drummer Ben McKone, sometimes the rhythms here are a little tougher – try Ooh Baby, the dubby, rootsy Night Night, which also features vintage-flavoured mcee-ing by Horseman (who also appeared on that debut album), and naturally enough, Frontline, for some good examples. Hollie’s vocals are more mature than many of the early lover’s rock singers – some of whom were hardly out of school – and this is also reflected in the lyrics. The songs all deal with relationships – and things don’t always go well.
Things do definitely go well with this release though. Hollie understands lover’s rock and proves it on this beautiful album.