During a stretch of the 90s — basically my college years — I was obsessed with the Boo Radleys. The band had figured out the unique blend of power pop and shoegaze, the two classifications of music that dominated my speakers. The string of Giant Steps, Wake Up!, and C’Mon Kids were, to my ears, perfection. (Tip for vinyl reissue specialists — It’s time to bring these three back!) And then, like many bands from those days, they went away.
Martin Carr, the brains behind the Boo Radleys, then began recording as Brave Captain, at which point he lost me. The more experimental stuff he was creating didn’t align with my interests. So it was with great surprise when I received his newest solo album, The Breaks, and found myself humming away like I used to with the Radleys records.
From the opening orchestral swirls of The Santa Fe Skyline I was back in familiar territory. The next track, St. Peter in Chains, has an equivalent buoyancy. The remainder of the album, save for the giddy Mandy Get Your Mello On, doesn’t quite reach those same levels, but the songs are all intricate, meticulous pop. Carr has written for his Radleys audience again.
With the Boo Radleys, Carr specialized in pop songs with layers. On The Breaks, he’s returned to similar terrain with a flourish.