Track Listing

1. The Gambler - Nigel Stonier, Thea Gilmore
2. Everybody's Numb
3. Red White And Black
4. Call Me Your Darling - Nigel Stonier, Thea Gilmore
5. We Built A Monster
6. The List
7. Going Down
8. Whistle And Steam
9. Cheap Tricks
10. Contessa
11. Slow Journey II - Thea Gilmore

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20785 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-26
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 49 minutes

CD Description
Seventh studio album, and first for Sanctuary, from young, prolific English indie-folk artist. Dark and vituperative, poetic and poignant, and inspired by the spirits of Dylan, Waits, Costello and Mitchell, Gilmore's work is highly regarded and has seen her hailed as "the most prolific and intelligent wordsmith of her generation" and "the best British singer-songwriter of the last 10 years".

Customer Reviews

Thea Plays Something That We Need To Hear
Well, I don't know how she does it.

Thea Gilmore started out releasing masterpieces, and since then each successive album just gets better and better. Her reviewers have already exhausted most of the superlatives, but basically Thea is the most commanding, compelling and downright phenomenal songwriter of her generation. And then some. In years to come, this album should be remembered as making all other current singer-songwriters look like the scared kittens they are...hiding behind their psudo-indie posturing crapola, or clinging to their limp faux "no-honestly-I-am-a-folk-singer" marketing, while all the noise they're making sounds just like the rest.

From the churning, goading opening "The Gambler", this album finds Thea at the peak of her incredible powers, spinning-off potent songs like sparks from a Catherine wheel. She moves from "Everybody's Numb"'s laceration of the modern music industry, to the snarling juggernaut of "We Built A Monster, to the harrowing starkness of the drug-addled lovers in "The List", with total mastery and assurance.

Harpo's Ghost is a kaleidoscope of musical styles and roller-coaster emotions; "Red White And Black" is a haunting lullaby spine-tingling modern folk-song lamenting vanishing patriotism; the exhilarating "Call Me Your Darling" is all swirling Hammond and Dylanesque harmonica; "Whistle & Steams" rolls and sighs over a shuffling groove; personal demons are put to rest in "Contessa", a song reminiscent of vintage U2 balladry, with one of Thea's gorgeous melody that is special even by her standards; and finally to the ethereal "Slow Journey", with its angelic backing vocals winding away like smoke through the night sky...

...And then the players all troupe back again for the rousing encoure that is the hidden track, as they pick up their plywood again and learn to sing the blues.

As I say, I don't know how she does it.

Mesmerising talent
Gorgeous voice, sweet and honeyed yet smoky. Constantly intelligent and barbed lyrics. Warm and engaging songs. Clear and precise production. What's not to love here? Maybe for some earlier fans her edges have been smoothed off a little too much here. Some arrangements, and indeed songs, remind me of the late lamented (by me at least) Del Amitri and their sardonic songwriter Justin Currie.

The only song which has so far passed by without scoring a deep place in my heart is Whistle And Steam. Otherwise, it's a wonderful work by an exceptionally talented artist.

Harpo's Ghost
Another masterpiece, the worry is that yet again it will be too good to achieve the commercial success that Thea deserves. That this a Thea Gilmore album is evident from the start, it is however somewhat different to Avalance, but then that was from 3 years previously. It certainly does not, on first hearing have as many potentially catchy songs which might be needed for mass appeal. It does however gets better and better with every play.
Reviews seem to have concentrated on Cheap Tricks and Everybodys Numb as being the stand out tracks possibly because they have a fuller sound and fine tracks they are, although We Built a Monster which is a pure rock track and probably least typically Thea is probably the most interesting track.
All in all a fine album and a must for anyone who has appreciated Thea's music to date