Recorded over a fortnight and made up of live takes, Lou Rhodes’ soul is out for all to see on new album One Good Thing, released March 15.
After heartbreakingly beautiful second album, Beloved One, was nominated for a Mercury Prize back in 2006, Rhodes instills a hope for the future with an honest tone and sweeping baroque strings.
“All of life is / Just a trick of light” she sings with poetic sentimentality. The songs are minimally acoustic and guitar based, reflecting the direct heart sore nature of their subject matter. On fourth track ‘It All’ she sings “Say your goodbyes to it all / Close your eyes to it all.” Lyrically, the songs are dealing with sadness and speak of life’s harder experiences, but sonically are wrapped in escapism. On ‘Circles’, the mood picks up in pace with faster finger picking as Rhodes states, “I knew we’d be here / Some magic day.”
The two week gestation period of the album involved working with LAMB partner Andy Barlow for the first time in six years. The record speaks of Rhodes’ ability as both a singer and songwriter, and the marked return to the close relationship between musician and guitar.
“Sometimes there’s one little thing that lifts you up for a moment and plugs you into what’s good in the world,” says Rhodes, and with this in mind, this album proves the point. Plug yourself in and enjoy.
8/10, out 15 March 2010.
Lizzie Simner
