Forgotten gems : ON by ECHOBELLY

Ok .. 1995 and thereabout.. was the battle of the britpop bands and particularly Oasis and Blur. But meanwhile, under the radar other, lesser known bands would pop out some serious stuff, that just didn't receive the same kind of exposure. At least not in the greater world.

You may have heard the hit single King Of The Kerb, and figured this is just another run of the mill, one hit wonder. Maybe they were, but then it should rather be labelled a one album hit wonder because this is a seriously solid pop rock album.

The most impressive thing about it is, that ALL the tracks are good. Not one sucky one here, and that is a rather astounding accomplishment. Off course there are variations in quality but it swings only from very good to brilliant. Some tracks are up-tempo, with good hooks and tempo-shifts, while others are more midtempo and reflective in their nature.

The voice of the lead, indian born Sonya Madan, gives the sound of the tracks a weird exotic and airy feel, that is vastly different from your usual "western" female rock and pop singer. She keeps it simple and straight to the point, no pretentiousness there.

There are clear inspirations from early Blondie and I also hear som Cult (around Electric). But it is also clearly a long track back through the rich british pop and rock tradition, but without being obviously a rip off. Very, very melodic in a fashion that is a keeper not a forgetter. The sound is a bit loose and the instruments do never get center stage. This is purely for the pleasure of great and memorable happy melodies ... and it delivers.