Rating: NNNN
Better known as the head of the Twisted Nerve label, Badly Drawn Boy’s best friend and the producer of his The Hour Of Bewilderbeast disc, Andy Votel shares Damon Gough’s ear for quirky, impossibly catchy pop scribbles, but little more.
There is no real pattern to the seven songs on Styles Of The Unexpected beyond hairpin turns and lo-fi trickery. Instead, the 10-inch EP moves from chunky hiphop breaks pinned beneath slinky keyboard riffs to a couple of hazy, vaguely poppish songs with occasional vocals and mournful cello solos. Votel’s short attention span keeps the beguiling mix fresh, since no one vibe lasts for more than two minutes. A Gap commercial seems unlikely, but if Votel could scrounge up enough time and ideas for a full album, he could give his pal a run for his money. MG
