A Girl Called Eddy – Been Around (2020) [FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

A Girl Called Eddy – Been Around (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 48:49 minutes | 550 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Elefant Records

A little more than a year ago Elefant released a very special album from a new project called THE LAST DETAIL, a super group, formed by FUGU and A GIRL CALLED EDDY. Or in other words, Mehdi Zannad and Erin Moran. Just over a year later, here they are releasing an album that many people didn’t ever think would ever come, the second A GIRL CALLED EDDY album. While her debut came out in 2004 to much critical acclaim and was produced by Richard Hawley, it has been a while to say the least. But here is “Been Around” and yes, it was definitely worth the wait. Very much worth it. Throughout her career she has collaborated and provided vocals on projects as varied as Ron Sexsmith (“Exit Strategy Of The Soul”), SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, to French superstar Phillip Katerine’s indie classic “Parlez Vous Anglais, Mr. Katerine?”. Her debut album saw her out on tour supporting acts as diverse as Josh Ritter, Rufus Wainwright, THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH and THE CURE. And with that first record Moran has gathered a rather impressive list of fans: from Jane Birkin, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Tracey Thorn to Robert Smith, Don Henley, Jarvis Cocker and Burt Bacharach to name just a few. “Been Around” has arrived looking like a classic. Referencing her hero’s from Laura Nyro, and Van Morrison, to Steely Dan and PREFAB SPROUT, she has put together a collection of songs that still sound completely her own. They bring an essence of the past and real heart to the present. To a 21st century desperately in need of this kind of elegance, soul and inspiration, it is welcome indeed. The arrangements on this album work on a different level to Morans debut. Where that album was steeped in dark melancholy, this record seems to bathe in the warm yellow Kodachrome-glow of the best of the 1970’s. A looking back, but not pastiche. A sense of genuineness and heart permeates every track. This is an album so full of detail and wonder that we could go on and on. “Been Around” is an enormous record. Made with love. Made the old-fashioned way. Perhaps thats where its timelessness comes from. Is reaching this exceptional and rich level of composition and emotion justification for such a long silence from A GIRL CALLED EDDY? Is that a question even worth asking? You haven’t heard an album like this in fifteen years. She’s back. Dig in and enjoy.A talented songwriter, the American pop/soul singer (who relocated to the UK) A Girl Called Eddy aka Erin Moran made waves back in 2004 with her eponymous album produced by Richard Hawley. In 2018, she graced the studio once more, as The Last Detail, a project she formed with the marvellous musician and artist Mehdi Zannad. It’s only in 2020, sixteen years later, that she is releasing her second solo project Been Around. This (very) prolonged absence is referred to from the first song, as a mysterious voice asks: “Girl, where you been?”

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Burt Bacharach”: this testament by Erin Moran is one of the first points of reference of an album where the melodic sophistication and harmonic complexity indeed remind the listener of the golden years of the legendary composer (The Look of Love and Walk On By). The complex melody of Charity Shop Window and the lyrics of Someone Gonna Break Your Heart resound like postmodern echos of the hits of the composer and his lyricist Hal David. There are some more clear Bacharach influences, like the orchestration which is simultaneously original but also suave, able to get even the most uptight listeners moving. In this vein, some highlights include the vocal harmonies of Big Mouth, the harmonica solo in Been Around and the fantastic piano/guitar/harpsichord combo of Finest Actor. There tends to be a constant underlying coat of placid and discreet strings, that never dare to swagger (Pale Blue Moon). Admittedly, the homage occasionally skirts parody in some cases, but overall the project remains magical thanks to the enchanting voice of the girl called Eddy. Paul McCartney appears to be the other great idol of the songstress, as certain melodic inflections point out in the chorus of Lucy Jack or of Two Hearts. The influences are plain for all to see on Been Around, but they dance around the listener’s ears with subtlety over the course of this album which dives right into the heart of the 1960s and 70s. – Nicolas Magenham

Tracklist:

1. A Girl Called Eddy – Been Around (05:24)
2. A Girl Called Eddy – Big Mouth (03:59)
3. A Girl Called Eddy – Jody (05:39)
4. A Girl Called Eddy – Charity Shop Window (03:31)
5. A Girl Called Eddy – Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart (02:57)
6. A Girl Called Eddy – Not That Sentimental Anymore (04:08)
7. A Girl Called Eddy – Two Hearts (03:14)
8. A Girl Called Eddy – Lucky Jack (20-1) (02:42)
9. A Girl Called Eddy – Come To The Palisades! (05:15)
10. A Girl Called Eddy – Finest Actor (04:24)
11. A Girl Called Eddy – NY Man (04:02)
12. A Girl Called Eddy – Pale Blue Moon (Bonus Track) (03:29)

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