- by Thomas
Can you imagine Tom Smith doing the voice of a character in a Disney movie? Shit, children would be depressed for years! Best known as Editors’ vocalist, “Funny Looking Angels” sees Smith teaming up with former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows for a christmas album. A slightly depressing christmas album that is.
“Funny Looking Angels” starts off with a short intro before “When The Thames Froze” kicks in. Well, it doesn’t as much kick in as slowly fade into being. And while it may sound like a traditional, it’s actually been written by Smith & Burrows. It’s one of four originals on the album, the rest of the songs are covers (Black’s “Wonderful life”, Yazoo’s “Only you”,…).
These self-proclaimed funny looking angels know very well that there is a fine line between kitsch and lush yet sincere arrangements and manage to stay on the right side throughout the entire album. The abovementioned “When The Thames Froze” is a beautiful example… while it’s filled with horns, backing vocals, marching rhythms and so on, it never sounds fake. And when Burrows takes the lead in songs like “As The Snowflakes Fall”, it’s like hearing a couple of previously unreleased Elliott Smith gems.
It’s that vocal diversity along with the beautiful, warm arrangements that make “Funny Looking Angels” a Christmas album worth listening to well into the new year.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
http://www.playitagainsam.net
http://www.smithandburrows.com
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