I've come to the conclusion that the sun must shine a lot in Argentina. That has to be the explanation for Baby Scream's obvious preference for the glory days of pop and rock as the source of inspiration for his latest album "Secret Place".
No matter how you look, or indeed listen, to it, "Secret Place" ends up being a celebration of the enduring power of the pop song with Juan Pablo Mazzola (for it is he that leads us on this trip up a sunny avenue) making his case in under three minutes per song. That neat economy has not led to trvialoty though as his words often focus more on the darkness of the soul than the breezy melodies might lead you to expect. As an example, listen to the lyrics "Going North" with "… a thousand pills and no one cares, I think I have the right to care about myself" illustrating that very point. "Bad Seed", on the other hand, masks its message of frustrated aggression in something akin to a sugar coated Thin Lizzy riff and whilst there is a stumble or two on this musical journey, the overall impression is nonetheless overwhelmingly positive.
To that end, it is perhaps no surprise that a T Rex cover – "20th Century Baby" - closes out this album. Marc Bolan was undoubtedly a master of bringing depth to commercial pop songs and Baby Scream is, equally undoubtedly, a disciple of that man. "Secret Place", therefore, is an upbeat record for downbeat times and, accordingly, makes you wish that the sun would shine forever.
Available from iTunes.