Hate them or love them (we’re still yet to find anyone who hates them), you’d be hard-pressed to find someone without a Morcheeba reference to some kind of musical memory.
For early 30-Brits, the Channel 4 reality show Shipwrecked was the first time many had laid ears on the group, with The Sea chosen as the lead soundtrack, and to this day still signifies mental images of lying on that idyllic beach next-to-nowhere. For others, the sounds of gospel-led Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day brings the summer smile to faces, whilst a certain Talib Kweli remix of Let Me See still rings true to uni students collapsed on their sofa at 3am after a ‘few heavy tokes on the green’.
Whichever way, whenever you hear the name Morcheeba, there’s always a smile associated to it; which is why the thought of a new album from the production duo is always an exciting proposition. It’s also the second album since Skye Edwards’ return as lead vocalist with the group, and after 2010’s disappointing Blood Like Lemonade, there’s lots riding on new LP Head Up High.
Fortunately, the album gets off with a strong start, going slap-bang back into Morcheeba’s trip-hop roots, with new single Gimme Your Love. The beat is divine, and the overall end product is pure Morcheeba, with Edwards’ soothing vocals making you just feel, well, great.
Head Up High brings together an impressive array of special guests, such is the power of the Morcheeba brand. Jurassic 5’s Charli 2na surprises with his strong verse on Face of Danger, a track that grows on every play, and encompasses Morcheeba’s ethos of funk, soul, hip-hop, gospel and trip-hop fusion beats.
White Denim guitarist James Petralli makes an interesting appearance too. Three tracks feature Petralli’s soulful tones; Call It Love gives Edwards a chance to go backstage and replenish, whilst both compliment each other’s vocals on I’ll Fall Apart and closing track Finally Found You (however I’ll Fall Apart does seem to dissipate what we’ve all grown to love about Morcheeba in the first place, and feels far too ‘experimental’).
Additionally, the ‘middle-track lull’ rears its ugly head during Make Believer; it seems an unnecessary addition to Head Up High and potentially makes you question whether the Godfrey brothers may have started to become either bored, or even complacent, in their production styles.
However, things turn up a notch with Release Me Now, whilst To Be marks a surprise appearance by ska/pop duo the Rizzle Kicks; whether it’s a clever attempt to appeal to both fan bases or not, the song just works with vocalist Harley Sule’s soulful tones complimenting Edwards’ vocals perfectly.
Overall, Head Up High is a nice effort, however it remains to be seen whether it will retain the success of early albums Big Calm and Fragments of Freedom.
Take a listen for yourself though by hitting the play button on the album stream below, and hit the iTunes link to buy Head up High, due out on Monday 14th October.
This album and this band are embarrassing. The lyrics are dreadful, the songs forgettable and they are so po faced about it all. Awful sludgy garbage that should have been put put of its misery over a decade ago.
The comment above appears pretty much word-for-word on a number of online reviews for this album. The commenter keeps changing his ‘name’ though; it seems he desperately wants to create the impression that his opinion is widespread.
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