Cicero Buck “Humbucky” (Supertiny Records 2004) Available: Now. Review by Mark Phillips (AMERICANA-UK.COM). Sophisticated, complex soul-folk from much favoured US-UK duo. It’s hard not to like Cicero Buck- they make beautiful songs that are well arranged, gently wander between genres and have such a quality and depth of writing that you’re drawn in whether you choose to be or not. An act of their quality deserves more exposure, and they should be selling buckets of records, but, and this could be a problem for some of our readers, sometimes it feels like they wander close to Eurythmics and Elton John territory. Go tell it to the Scissor Sisters, you might respond, and you’d have a fair point, though it would be worth noting that these days they seem to be playing leisure centers in Swindon. As it happens, either Stewart/Lennox or Reg at their height do me just fine, so I don’t object too much- hell, even Uncut have just given Elton 5 stars for his most recent effort. Opener “Lie on The Horizon” is a cute, dour introduction to the album, and it suggests perhaps Mary Black in a difficult, moody, celtic frame of mind; more often, though, it’s Wilco and Erin McKeown who are the obvious soulmates of Kris and Joe, as both of those artists have the same disregard for boundaries. That is one of the main attractions here.
HUMBUCKY
* * * * (4 stars) Two years on from first LP Delicate Shades Of Grey, Anglo-American
duo Cicero Buck return with a more strident, confident set of folk-pop songs.
Songwriter/vocalist Kris Wilkinson is particularly effervescent on the tough
"Gonna Fly" (with bluesy squeals of guitar) and the rippling Nashville skiffle
of "Little Songbird". Muscle Shoals veteran Jack Peck, meanwhile, adds blasts
of brass to the dusty twang of "Black Road". Wilkinson (despite the Yankee
blood) sounds very English in her Sandy Denny-like delivery, whilst partner
Joe (ex-The Lover Speaks) Hughes adds loping bass, background vocals and a
taste of the familiar with a stripped reworking of his own "No More I Love
You's" (a huge '90's hit for Annie Lennox). Fresh and feisty. - Rob Hughes,
Uncut December '04
5 Stars. MAVERICK. Cicero Buck. Humbucky. www.supertinyrecords.com * * * *
* This album is quite different to their first release, and has actually taken
Cicero Buck to a higher musical level. The addition of Nick Swannell as co-producer
has elevated their music to the premiership league, and Kris Wilkinson's voice
is exquisite throughout every song. Nick's input is most prominent on the
first and last tracks, as both Lie On The Horizon and What I Couldn't Say
are both hauntingly alluring due to his brilliant background instrumentation,
and coupled with Kris' enchantingly hypnotic vocals, make these excellent
book-ends for the pure quality that is in-between! This album seems to capture
different moods throughout, as you have a couple of very catchy songs in If
I Can't Sing and the tremendous Eyelashes, which had me making favourable
comparisons with The Mama's And The Papa's. Also on this great cd are fun
up-tempo songs, such as the up-lifting Little Songbird, and the rocking Gonna
Fly. Plus the more diversely off-the-wall Funhouse. But the truly outstanding
tracks on the cd are the ballads. Bound To Fall is just amazing, and beautiful
doesn't even come close to describing this incredible ballad. And Catching
You Inbetween is just excellent in its utter simplicity. Two other tracks
that I would also have to single out as favourites are; Black Road, which
has wonderfully bluesy vocals further enhanced by a splendidly jazzy lounge
piano accompaniment, further embellished by a great trumpet intro. The second
song needs no real explaining, as it is the Annie Lennox hit No More I Love
You's done acoustically, enough said! Speaking of Annie Lennox, probably if
she were to release any of these songs they would be hits, that shows the
quality on this album. But what is only evident by listening to this album
is the quality of Cicero Buck themselves. This is an album that everyone should
own, listen to and enjoy. Simple really!! DK.
Not officially out until November but available on pre-release from their
website, I have to say that neither the punning title nor the sleeve artwork
are exactly prepossessing. The music, however, is another matter entirely.
The follow up to 2002's Delicate Shades of Grey, there's less of the alt-country
stylings this time round and a stronger leaning on the jazz-blues-folk colours
of the debut while their melodic sensibilities and awareness of what makes
a perfectly crafted grown up pop song are, if anything, stronger than ever.
For latecomers, the duo comprises American singer-songwriter Kris Wilkinson
and English bassist/writer Joe Hughes, once half of underrated 80s classy
ballad pop outfit The Lover Speaks, while this time round they've roped in
a few friends (unknown to the casual listener but minor industry legends)
to sprinkle some extra magic in the shape of former Muscle Shoals trumpeter
Jack Peck, pianist Billy Livsey (that's him you hear on Tina Turner's What's
Love Got To Do With It) and, just to confuse things, Kris Wilkinson (as in
the Nashville one who scored All The Pretty Horses) looking after the strings.
They also get to co-write one song, the haunting blinded by the light ballad
Bound To Fall, with Pierce Pettis. Right, that's the bio and credits taken
care of. Now for the music. Treating on love found, lost, desired, good, bad
and plain ornery, the songs are gentle, occasionally world weary blues streaked
creatures, peering through a gauze of light bruises and sun dappled lace.
Eyelashes (rhymed with Molasses) bounces along with a trumpet splashed verve
in a manner reminiscent of the old Harper's Bizarre while the jugbandish jog
of Little Songbird trills in similar upbeat vein and, despite its darker lyrical
neuroses, Black Roads is paved with a lolloping lazy New Orleansy rhythm.
Funhouse is one of those mid-afternoon sun baking straw fields blues numbers
that has you feeling parched as you listen, Gonna Fly a guitar rocking swaggery
chug. Wilkinson's in cracking form throughout, her vocals and delivery on
the musically up, emotionally down Ascension calling to mind Laura Nyro while
the creek lazing If I Can't Sing suggests a twangier, Southern raised Carole
King. For me though the best moments come with the sparer, more reflective
ballads; a self-accusatory bluesy What I Couldn't Say, the leafily folk comedown
Lie On The Horizon and, the album's two gold-plated standouts, the aching
Catching You In Between and their sparse, stripped back piercingly touching
revival of Hughes's classic old hit No More I Love You's on which Wilkinson's
voice stands shoulder to shoulder with Christine Collister. And frankly, recommendations
don't come much higher than that. Humdinger. - Netrhythms.co.uk