Doris Brendel And Lee Dunham
Album: Upside Down World
Label: Skyrocket
Tracks: 9
Website: http://www.dorisbrendel.com

Except to say how you can't use it in the review of a Doris Brendel And Lee Dunham, there is one word that will never slip into a review of a release from aforementioned duo, bland. From back when she was lead vocalist with alt-rockers, The Violet Hour, that we used to feature in these pages when we were a paper magazine, Doris Brendel has always been an artist to tinker and the fringes of genres, piecing the dividing lines and letting them bleed into each other. In multi-instrumentalist producer, Lee Dunham and sangreal cocktails like "Upside Down World" have been the result.

Piano chords meet electric guitars, husky vocal slams into pop rock sensibilities and prog excesses duel with stripped back melancholy. I'm sure that some will also feel that fingernails on blackboards and garlic burps whilst eating icecream, may also apply, i.e. unexpected and not particularly pleasant. It is undeniable that there are aspects to "Upside Down World" that are polarising.

Just as one person sumptuous is another's overblown and clever and witty can easily be two clever by half, Brendel and Dunham really do hit this album with a heck of a lot of creative force. It's not surprising to discover that Brendel was high on the list of Pink Floyd's wants for their "Great Gig In The Sky" tour , which ultimately she had to turn them down for.

Some of the songs on "Upside Down World" work at a far more lyrical level than others, sometimes the words have to work against a soundscape, what is consistent is that at all times you feel that the duo of Brendel and Dunham are in charge, the songs are how they are meant to be, they have escaped in the studio. Similarly you know that each song contains body and soul, both the main performers and the supporting players have committed to producing an album that has a real life to it. The album says quality from the moment you first look at the artwork

Do I get on with the album as a whole? No. Do I think that all of the concepts flourish as intended? Well that's another no. Am I fascinated by the album, playing in the car frequently and trying to wring every last surprise and working level out of it? Too right and I still think there's a lot of mileage in it yet. Recommended? Oh yes, but with that word of caution. I'm absolutely certain, meh, is not where this album is at.

Neil King