Grace Solero - Metamorphosis (Wohone Records)

Me? If it’s retro female rocking I’m going to listen to I’d probably prefer someone who sounds like Alannah Myles rather than Alanis Morissette, but beggars can’t be choosers, as they say, so when the head honcho handed this album down to me from his Canberran Ivory Tower I had no option but to sit down and have a listen. And, on balance, I’m very glad I did…

London-based alt.rocker Grace Solero has weaved a sonic tapestry of distinct nineties vintage on Metamorphosis; if you’re a plaid-toting child of that era rather than a cowboy-booted eighties dude then there’s nothing – make that absolutely NOTHING – about this record that you aren’t gong to love. In fact, as the final notes of closing track Shaman fade off into the ether you’ll be salivating like Pavlov’s Dog as you fall over yourself in your haste to get the needle back to the start of track one and lose yourself in the album’s patchouli-stained vibes all over again, let me tell you!

Solero leads from the front, with a voice that comforts the soul with it’s familiar timbre yet never really falls foul of imitating those that have clearly influenced it. Aided by a team of crack musicians – notably guitarist Dan Beaulaurier, whose style reminds this reviewer of a pleasant, potentially world-beating mix of Mike McCready and Rich Robinson – Solero has created a set of songs where feel and emotion are at least as important as rock n’roll’s normal base elements of sturm und drang; Many of the tracks here hang in the ears almost imperceptibly, kickstarting images in the head that stay with the listener long after the music has drifted away. It’s an intense listening proposition that belies the comparative wooziness of much of the music on offer, and as such you won’t find many more beguiling albums offered up for consumption this year.

Late night listening for sure, and certainly an album designed to be consumed with your stimulant/depressant of choice, this won’t be everyone’s cup of mushroom tea, but Metamorphosis nevertheless possesses all the characteristics of a rather special album. I highly recommend immersion when you get the chance…