You’ve got to laugh. That’s a saying that you should repeat in circumstances like when you have just been shot in the leg and thrown into an abandoned quarry. Or in less terminal situations like when you have just finished listening to “I Saw This And Thought Of You” by Anna Secret Poet.
“I Saw This And Thought Of You” contains ten incentives to smile with, no matter how dubious your musical tastes, one of these songs being likely to make you show your teeth. This is pretty much an album of power pop but the Anna Secret Poet special sauce is to weave humour into the words and melodies without ever actually being unduly obvious about it. The ghost of the heyday of seventies pop music – when musical literacy and commercial success did hold hands – looms large yet it is the sheer range of musical diversions that will keep your ears interested in a long term relationship. The acerbic “Eat Like A Butterfly, Shit Like A Bee”, for example, camps it up like a school play Gilbert and Sullivan - and, for the youngsters out there, we are talking about the light opera stalwarts Gilbert and Sullivan and not the seventies pop superhero Gilbert O’Sullivan – but little more than a minute later it’s time to get out the rock guitars and riff it up with “Burnt Out”. Variety is indeed the spice of life.
Like I (sort of) said at the start, an album like “I Saw This And Thought Of You” is likely to improve your morale, especially if you believe in the healing power of a decent pop song like I do.
Best song: “The Sound”
Verdict: Pure uplifting.