Plush: Fed (CD on Broken Horse)

Band: Plush
Label: Broken Horse
Title: Fed

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Band:Plush
Title:Fed
Reviewed By:Andrew Carver
Date Published:26/07/2008

Label:Broken Horse
Format:CD
Release Year:Label
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Ever since Plush made a minor splash with ‘Three Quarters Blind Eyes’/’Found a Little Baby’ in 1994, the expectations for Liam Hayes’ Plush have outdone his output. Ten years ago Hayes released ‘More You Becomes You’, an album of minimalist piano pop. It was widely praised for its fragile beauty, but for years afterward Hayes struggled against his perfectionism to release a full-length follow-up.

While he worked (allegedly racking up huge studio costs), new stars appeared in the indie pop firmament. When ‘Fed’ emerged in 2002, it only saw the light of day in Japan.

Now the rest of the world gets to see what Hayes was up to thanks to a re-release on the Broken Horse label (and a digital release on Other Music).

‘Fed’ announces right off the bat that it’s not ‘More You Becomes You Part 2’ with the growling guitar, tooting horn section, string section and backing vocals of ‘Whose Blues’. The sturm and drang is mostly provided by Chicago studio professionals, and their performance is sharp.

‘Blown Away’ lives up to the Burt Bacharach comparisons spurred by his debut with its piano ballad core and tinkling glockenspiel. ‘Greyhound Bus Station’ sounds like a Rolling Stones song re-imagined as a pop brass number. ‘No Education’ could be a James Bond theme for slackers. Throughout the album, Hayes’ distinctive high warble dominates the proceedings, striking a melancholy counterpoint to the pros’ pop sheen. His vocals bear a remarked resemblance to those of another cult artist, Alex Chilton, a resemblance heightened by both performers mutual descent from the Beatles.

The tremelo guitar lick and opening lyric of ‘Sounds of San Francisco’ – ‘Woke up today’ - sound like nods to the Fab Four.

Some were put off by the luscious production of ‘Fed’ on its initial release – it was certainly a marked departure from its predecessor. But with the passage of time it can be seen as a work of sublime artistry in the vein of Scott Walker and Bacharach.

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Re-release of Chicago-based outfit Plush's balladic 2002 album, which with the passage of time can be seen as a work of sublime artistry in the vein of Scott Walker and Burt Bacharach

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Fed - CD
Re-release of Chicago-based outfit Plush's balladic 2002 album, which with the passage of time can be seen as a work of sublime artistry in the vein of Scott Walker and Burt Bacharach

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