ALBUM OF THE MONTH

PER GESSLE - PARTY CRASHER 2008.

The English-speaking world has more or less forgotten about Per Gessle since Roxette's dissolution in the mid-'90s. But the Swedish songsmith -- a major star in his native country -- never stopped churning out hummable, hooky pop, both solo and with the eventually re-formed Roxette. Party Crasher is his third English-language solo album and seventh overall, and it's about as solid as they come. The sheeny, synth-kissed production feels dated (circa the original Roxette era) in a way that could almost be hip...well, almost. (If the title's supposed to suggest that Gessle's crashing the late '00s' perpetual retro-'80s borrowed-nostalgia party, it's mostly a failure on that count.) But well-crafted melodies never go out of style, or at least they always come back around, and there is certainly no shortage here. The fizzy electro-pop single "Silly Really" sets the tone, musically and conceptually (it's a perfect frivolous Gessle song title, blithely devoid of any discernible meaning) and it's a blast. The supremely Cars-esque "Gut Feeling" and the goofy, surf-tinged "Thai with a Twist" (complete with sax solo, crowd noise, and vocoder breakdown, and no, the title doesn't make any more sense in context) may be even better. But the best stuff on here is the actually the mellower material: lush slow jams like "Hey, I Died and Went to Heaven" and "Perfect Excuse" (two of several tracks that benefit greatly from the vocal contributions of Helena Josefsson) and especially the breezy, buoyant, Caribbean-flavored "Breathe Life into Me" and "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On." All told, an impressive showing and a splendidly enjoyable album.

ADDMX Records International 2006 - 2010.

Heidi Berry - Antology

Heidi Berry:

Songs and vocal style are in the the tradition of the 70’s/80’s singer-songwriter. Recent parallels have been sited as Beth Orton and David Gray. Stylistically her work has ranged from acoustic folk-based sounds to harder-edged electric guitar. Her newest work is based around piano and layered vocals.Heidi was born in Boston, USA and brought up in London, England in the 1970’s. She is, by her own admission, “always somewhere between two countries”. She acheived a degree in Fine Art at Hornsey School of Art and was a painter and printmaker for several years before deciding her real calling was music.iHer first solo release came in the form of a mini-album on Creation Records: Firefly (1987). The full-length Below The Waves was released in 1989. She toured the UK and Europe with label mates Primal Scream and appeared at the Albert Hall with The Violent Femmes.

Her introduction to the 4AD label came in 1991, when she featured on This Mortal Coil’s third album, Blood, singing a Rodney Crowell song, ‘Til I Gain Control. She then went on to release 3 solo albums under the 4AD banner: Love (1991), Heidi Berry (1993), and Miracle (1996). A fourth 4AD album, the retrospective Pomegranate – An Anthology was released in 2001. As a 4AD artist, Heidi toured extensively in the UK, Europe and the USA. Her songs have appeared on episodes of Dawson’s Creek and Baywatch. She has also composed soundtracks for two BBC television documentaries.

Last year, Heidi sent herself “back to school” and enrolled on the songwriting course run by Ray Davies at The Arvon Foundation. She found this experience, “renewing, inspiring and the hardest work I’ve ever done”. The result is, Heidi is currently recording a collection of new songs. She says, “I’ve got about 40 songs now. How and when they will be released, I haven’t the faintest idea. I just know I need to do this with all my heart.”

Heidi Berry teaches Songwriting and Live Performance at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music. She lives on the south coast of England with her partner and a cranky black cat.

ALBUMS 1987 - 1993


ADDMX Records International 2006 - 2010.

WELCOME ADDMX Records International 2010 !!!