Product description Eliza Carthy – Angels & Cigarettes – CD Amazon.co.uk Having ridden the folk wave of her family connections throughout her early career–this is already her ninth album in various forms–Eliza Carthy’s major-label debut has to largely stand or fall on its own merits. Many who came to her through her work in the traditional field may well feel unable to make the leap to the new sounds here, while to the mainstream audience at which this is so clearly aimed she will be just another unknown. The folk roots of her solo albums (Heat, Sound & Light and the justly acclaimed Red Rice) have been largely abandoned for a radio-friendly, pop-orientated approach. The more organic instruments (Carthy’s own fiddle being no exception) have been relegated to mere backing for the dominant keyboards, layered vocals and programming. The too obvious but still valid comparison is with The Corrs. The statement of intent is even clearer when it comes to the material, all bar one of the 10 tracks being self-penned. Previous folk tales have been replaced with the kind of crass line which introduces “The Company Of Men”. Tellingly, the best track is the only cover–a moody trip-hop run through Paul Weller’s “Wild Wood”. The album is best approached as an entry point to far better examples of Carthy’s work, particularly Red Rice and the massively underrated Kings Of Calicutt album, still the best release to bear her name. –Phil Udell
About Eliza Carthy
