About a month ago I got an E-mail from Essex-based musician Dave Milligan, who happens to be one-third of Arco; a fine band whose brand of quiet, melancholic rock has thus far produced two albums’ worth of new material. Sadly, there’s no news of Arco’s third long player yet but thankfully Mr. Milligan’s own solo project, Penguin Party, has produced an equally fine record, albeit one which distances itself away from the artist’s usual band.
Although ‘See Thru Songs’ certainly doesn’t stick to a tried and trusted formula, it certainly echoes the British new wave scene. ‘Elephant’s Graveyard’ and ‘I’m Ready For My Closeup, Mr Demille’ are the songs which most recall the intelligent left-field pop of Squeeze but ‘Goin’ Back To Grandma’s’ reminds me, rather disturbingly, of The Wurzels. Of the other noteworthy moments, there’s an uptempo, punkier version of the Arco original ‘Lullaby’, ‘United State Of Grace’ is a lovely, hopeful finale whilst ‘Someone Else’s Turn’ toys with funk. His best moment, though, occurs two tracks in. With its old-fashioned instrumentation and Milligan’s impressive aching vocal, ‘Before I Go Away’ compares very favourably to the work of The Montgolfier Brothers. Admittedly, ‘See Thru Songs’ doesn’t fit easily into the modern agenda but it’s highly tuneful and charming, with just the right air of quirkiness to rank it as one of the better nostalgically-flavoured records of recent times.
Web Sites:
Penguin Party MySpace
Sitting Target Label and Shop Site
Further Listening:
Arco, Squeeze
From Notlame.com:
What cool, engaging release – but for the reasons most albums hit me well ‘n good! This one is not a rocker, not particularly sprightly and light-in-the-toes, but it has a hypnotic quality that pulls you in. Dave Milligan is not playing it safe with his pop inspirations with his healthy love of early Squeeze, Nick Lowe and Martin Newell, it’s a distinctively British take on pop craftmenship but it works extremely well on “See Thru Songs”.