Rating: NNNN
Following a lengthy absence that included some way-too-early retirement deliberation, synth pop songwriter Thomas D’Arcy’s third Small Sins album is his most collaborative yet.
[rssbreak]
Involving his whole band throughout the recording sessions and enlisting the production expertise of Tortoise luminary (and recent Broken Social Scene collaborator) John McEntire, D’Arcy has finally given his songs the treatment they deserve. Replacing the lo-fi thinness of earlier recordings with crisp drumbeats and full-sounding guitars and synths, the “real band” treatment adds depth to his pop-leaning compositions.
D’Arcy is still obviously enamoured of big, stick-in-your-head hooks, but he employs them here with a subtlety that skirts the cloying tawdriness often rooted in electro-pop. Tracks like the funky k-os collaboration Déjà Vu and the chilled-out title track manage to make their melodic point without resorting to over-the-top theatrics.
Sometimes a hiatus isn’t such a bad idea.
Top track: Pot Calls Kettle Black
Small Sins play the Horseshoe on Tuesday (September 28).
