ReviewAlbum review: Roisin Murphy turns things up another quirky notch
Former Moloko frontwoman takes us on a prog-disco journey of surpassing strangeness – why isn’t she more famous?
Take Her Up to Monto
Play It Again Sam
Coming so soon after last year’s wonderful Hairless Toys, the Mercury Prize-nominated album that arrived after an almost eight-year hiatus, you’d be forgiven for thinking Irish songwriter Roisin Murphy’s latest release was simply a cash-in collection of B-sides and Hairless cast offs. It’s true these nine new tracks were created during the same recording sessions and they do share a similar tone. However, the ex-Moloko vocalist has said that if the two albums are siblings, Hairless Toys would be “the nice child” while Take Her Up to Monto would be the “complicated one”. While the electro-pop on Hairless was far from conventional, it was possibly Murphy at her most mainstream. THUTM takes it up another quirky notch. Cosmic opener Mastermind is a nearly seven-minute prog-disco journey through a galaxy of synth arpeggios and laser-sharp beats, while Pretty Gardens sounds like Portishead playing jazzy baroque pop. It’s a huge shame that Murphy isn’t more famous, but the unique creativity on THUTM could be the very thing preventing the electronica diva from achieving more than cult status.