‘Love Songs in a Different Key’ is the final CD in a trilogy of indie pop releases by Exeter’s ANDY B which began with ‘Buttons and Badges’ in 2011 and continued with ‘Letters Home’ which was also released the same year. Andy is apparently also the head of Pastime Records which released this and the previous CDs.
On this album, Andy plays lead, rhythm and acoustic guitar as well as bass piano, and keyboards. Being a singer songwriter he also takes on the vocal duties, and all compositions are his own. Andy has some accompaniment on this CD with Elizabeth Bennett on violin and backing vocals and Andy Ward on drums.
There are twelve tracks on the album, which as the title says are love songs or at least songs about love and loss and being stood up. All tracks fall within the indie pop genre, but there are also some nuances that have an almost folky flavour, despite some of the guitar lines having roots that link in with some of the post punk movement of the late 1970s, although a lot brighter and upbeat.
Andy’s lyrics are whimsical, and whilst at times some of the rhymes may appear simplistic, they manage to paint a picture very much along the lines of kitchen sink dramas, such as on ‘Not Fooling Anyone’, a story of a girl whose “got a leopard skin dress” and looks like she’s just been jilted: - “She’s got a face like death, lights up a cigarette/ Been waiting over an hour or more, still he’s not there/ Time to go home, but doesn’t want to be alone/ Thinks she needs a man, so she’s not on her own”.
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Andy’s storytelling is more introspective on tracks like ‘Life’s a Disease’, a mellow guitar and keyboard pop tune the flows along nicely: - “Take my arms, I don’t wanna fly, clip my wings, don’t wanna have to try/ Want it nice and easy, as it really should be, If you don’t believe me, just walk on by/ Life’s a disease, brings you to your knees.”
With tracks like this, Andy manages to capture the essence of social and domestic problems that most of us go through. He hits the nail on the head when he states: - “Take my eyes, I don’t need to see. I know what’s going on, what you’ve done to me”.
It all adds up to a refreshing take on relationships and life in general. The album is available on a download or from Andy B at Pastime Records and is well worth investigation.
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