It's yesterday again. A radical assertion as a result of watching too may episodes of Doctor Who? Or have I just listened to an album by Madaleine Pritchard? It's the latter.
The first time that I listened to this album, I actually turned it over to check it wasn't a reissue from the mid to late eighties. It's that convincing - right down to the synth programming, worryingly familiar horn arrangements and a drum sound that spookily echoes the "classic" Linn drum sound. On top of it all however - the chocolate on your cappuccino if you like - is the delectable Madaleine Pritchard. I have to admit that she does what she does very well sounding like a cross between Corrine Drewery and Regina Belle. Probably the most recent comparison I can make would be with Monica Naranjo but in the end you've got to use references from way back when and you'll understand why when you hear the album and of the songs, the up-tempo "Rollercoaster" and the closing track "Letting You Go" stood out.
No doubt the retro feel was a deliberate move on Ms Pritchard's part but by the end of this album, I began to wonder what she could do if she escaped from the compressed, programmed precision of the backing tracks. Don't get me wrong for this is, all in all, a convincing performance but too many of the songs sounded like pastiches of other people hits from the dreaded eighties. I'd still buy though, if only for the cover.