Tapete

This summer, Harper Lee will be releasing her first new book since To Kill A Mockingbird, entitled Go Set a Watchman.

While its unclear what kind of a role the main protagonist in the legendary reclusive author’s sequel to her 1960 classroom essential—Mr. Arthur “Boo” Radley, who was so expertly played by a young Robert Duvall in the Gregory Peck film—will have within its pages, the spirit of the character lives forever in the namesake of one of the UK’s most underrated rock groups, The Boo Radleys.

And though it wasn’t as long of a stretch between works as that of Ms. Lee’s, the primary architect of this old Creation Records-era outfit, Mr. Martin Carr, emerges from a seven-year gap between solo albums with The Breaks. Its his first album for the intrepid Tapete label, where he joins such fellow vets of Alternative England as Lloyd Cole, Bill Pritchard and The Lilac Time on its ever increasing roster of talent.

These ten new songs might not have the bite of such old Boo gems as Everything’s Alright Forever and C’Mon Kids. But they are prime examples of Carr’s massive strengths as a pop songwriter, growing into his 47-year-old self by exhibiting a comfortable sense of melody exhibited so well by the likes of Harry Nilsson and Todd Rundgren on tracks like “Senseless Apprentice” and “No Money in My Pocket”, while also displaying his excelled chops as an arranger/composer on its cinematic opening cut “Santa Fe Skyway”.

Jam fans who have been digging deep into the early 90s heyday of the Boo Radleys while also tuning their ear towards a more refined pop sound will certainly appreciate the gems in The Breaks.