Swing Out Sister - Beautiful Mess (Miso)
OF all the legacies of Hacienda-era Manchester, perhaps Swing Out Sister are the most unusual.
More than 20 years on from the bouncy calling card Breakout, Andy Connell and Corinne Drewery - who first met at the Hacienda - are still plying a timelessly stylish combination of sixties soul, jazzy lounge music and Bacharach-like pop.
All of which, perversely, seems to be hugely more popular in Japan than here in the UK. Beautiful Mess - already well received in points east (that's Hokkaido, not Hull) - is an instantly familiar confection of intelligent writing, sparkling arrangements and sophisticated singing.
The difference, perhaps, is an occasional funky undertow which gives the SOS sound a more urbane feel. The brooding groove of My State Of Mind, for instance, sounds like something from the Crusaders' heyday.
Those who hanker for SOS's recreation of Dusty Springfield-era pop won't be disappointed, though, with the likes of I'd Be Happy.
Released on September 8
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Reviewed: Thu, 04 September, 2008
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