Songs Of My Lap is the new identity for solo artist Alex Hancock. Previously performing under the guise of Hytra Waters Elbow, his new record is a celebration of brevity with ten short tracks covering lo-fi recorded electronica, guitar, piano and voice. In the “would like to meet” part of his MySpace site, tellingly Hancock lists only “me at 27″.
Hancock is no great shakes as a singer; his almost affected fey vocals do tend to irritate on the weaker tracks but as the album only covers ten songs in eighteen minutes, no song can be accused of outstaying its welcome. “Happiness is not being bones in a backroom” is one of the key lines to ‘Bones’; actually one of the most addictive tracks thanks to its shimmering electronic melody. Meanwhile, the fragile guitar line underscoring ‘The 2nd Time Is More Better’ reminded me of the much-missed Chuzzlewit; another miserablist snger-songwriter ploughing his own individualist furrow. Yet the most effective moment is saved to last as the spare ‘Dry Your Eyes Boy’ provides the saddest of send-offs – “She’s not coming back for a long time”. Overall I enjoyed the unique style of Hancock but my enjoyment would have increased even more if he had extended the better tracks into longer songs.
Web Sites:
Songs Of My Lap MySpace
Unlabel Label Site
Further Listening:
Chuzzlewit
0 Responses to “Review: Songs Of My Lap – The Prize”