Black: Are we having fun yet? (Nero Schwartz). COLIN Vearncombe, who wishes to be known exclusively as Black, has no reason to be so enigmatic. His third album is mainstream pop - and not what the impaled houseflies on the cover might imply. Now, accessible music is fine as long as it is done well. But while Black's early feel-good hit, Wonderful Life, had a dignified sweetness, the songs on Are We Having Fun Yet? tend toward the maudlin. That's Just Like Love, for instance, boasts When your heart's been broken into tiny little pieces/Who will pick them up? as a lyric. Wish the World Awake, a potential single, dazzles with [She] prayed for an angel to fill her empty soul/Do angels come sobig?/I don't think so. Still, Are We Having Fun Yet? has its moments. The album's opening track, Don't Take the Silence Too Hard, is a refreshing departure from Black's usual poor man's Bryan Ferry schtick. Reminiscent of The Proclaimers, this tune sentimentalises a new immigrant's homesickness after moving to the United States. And if you are going to be sentimental, why not go all the way? On Ave Lolita (a clever idea in itself) Vearncombe steps firmly into Scott Walker territory, replete with soaring vocals and gushing strings.
