Bill Pritchard - Mother Town Hall

by Dixie Ernill

published: 21 / 2 / 2016

Label: Tapete Records
Format: CD

Forgotten 80's troubadour, Bill Pritchard, continues on the comeback trail with excellent new album

Review

It is kind of fitting that Bill Pritchard is on Hamburg’s Tapete Records as the label is home to Lloyd Cole and Robert Forster, both of whom also first came to prominence in the 1980s and like Pritchard have made a resurgence of late. Similar to Cole and Forster, Pritchard writes off-kilter songs that are lyrically rich and melodic whilst not quite conforming to a traditional pop pigeonhole. Having been off the scene for the best part of a decade, Pritchard’s return in 2014 with an album, 'A Trip to the Coast', may have been unexpected, but it wasn’t a disappointment and 'Mother Town Hall' builds on that comeback to create something rather good. Opening track 'Saturn and Co' is somewhat of a family affair with Pritchard’s daughter Alice singing backing vocals to fine effect, while 'Mont St. Michel' is probably the most pop moment on the album. There’s a music hall feel to 'Vampire from New York' and a sinister almost gothic edge to 'Lilly Anne', but underscored with Pritchard’s world weary vocals. Elsewhere there are more slices of sparkling guitar pop in the shape of 'Heaven', 'September Haze' and the marvellous 'Mother Tongue' that mark Pritchard out as an underground Morrissey without the baggage. With music suffocating from the abundance of manufactured talent show tosh that is heaped upon us, it’s reassuring to find that some of the old guard are returning with considered, organic music to provide us with an appealing escape route. Tapete Records and Messrs Cole, Forster and Pritchard, we salute you!

Track Listing:-

1 Saturn And Co.
2 Mont St. Michel
3 My First Friendship
4 Vampire From New York
5 15A Holy Street
6 Déjà Vu Boutique
7 Heaven
8 September Haze
9 Lilly Anne
10 Victorious
11 Mother Tongue
12 The Lamplighter