published: 7 /
5 /
2009
Label:
Scopitones
Format: CD
Fine debut solo album from Wedding Present and former Goya Dress bassist, Terry de Castro, which consists of cover versions of songs by her friends
Review
Those of you who were fans of the British indie rock scene back in the 90s might remember a band called Goya Dress. It was fronted by Astrid Williamson, and was signed to Sony sub-label Nude Records (which was also the home of Suede, among others). They only released one album, 'Rooms', before disbanding. Then David Gedge from the Wedding Present invited the bass player and the drummer to join his band Cinerama. They did, and played with him on Cinerama's second album, 'Disco Volante'. The drummer, Simon Pearson, has since left the band, but the bass player is still there with David Gedge in the reformed the Wedding Present.
Can you see where this is all going ? Well, if you haven’t guessed it yet, the bass player is Terry de Castro, and now she has released her first solo effort, a 12-track album, 'A Casa Verde', consisting of cover versions of songs written by friends of hers.
The opening track is, not surprisingly, a Wedding Present song, 'Dalliance', which was first released on their 'Seamonsters' album back in 1991. Terry has stripped it down to bare bones on her version. With acoustic guitars and pedal steel, the song sounds quite different from the original (even though Gedge’s old recording is quite calm too, until the very last minutes of the song).
I must say that I like de Castro’s voice a lot. The eleven following songs are also good, even though I’m not familiar with the original versions in all cases. But that might also be a good thing, as I can judge the songs in a different way. If I should have heard all the original songs, I might just be annoyed with Terry’s interpretation.
And yes, there is a Goya Dress song here too, the minor hit single 'Glorious', and also a song written by Astrid Williamson after the band split up, 'To Love You'.
Track Listing:-
1
Dalliance
2
East St. O'Neill
3
The Sun Is Always Sweetest
4
Sleep Drives
5
Like You Believe It
6
America In '54
7
Glorious
8
The Great Avalanche
9
Perfect Movie
10
Sodium
11
Starry Eyed
12
To Love You
Label Links:-
http://www.scopitones.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWeddingPre
https://twitter.com/weddingpresent