She's good at this pop credibility lark, is POLLY PAULUSMA. She's been out on tour with the likes of Gary Jules and Jamie Cullum and been given exposure by the equally nafftastic Michael Parkinson, yet she's previously sung back-up for Ben & Jason and been accepted by the newer acoustic notables such as Ed Harcourt and Cara Dillon. So she must be doing something right.
Polly's debut album "Scissors In My Pocket" effortlessly demonstrated why Polly's making this across-the-board acceptance business look so simple. Intelligent, bookish, but slightly suggestive, her songs proved to be both hummable and accessible with just that frisson of danger to balance things out. Acoustic and folky she may be, but she's no Beth Orton and certainly (God forbid) another Tanita Tikaram either.
"Dark Side," which also kicks off the album, is an obvious, but perfectly acceptable choice for a single, too. Just off waltz time, it's breathily attractive folk-pop with shakers and accordion accentuating the point, while Polly gently disses her Cambridge past (and makes wry reference to the university's most famous sons Pink Floyd?) with a wordy, but ridiculously catchy chorus that goes: "I've danced with romeos and gigolos, philosophers and slackers/ vagabond and Cambridge dons - the king of cool's heir apparent." Ouch. Very wittily put and no mistake.
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Bonus track "Orion's Belt" is a further treat. Low-riding, tense and rhythmic, with almost Gregorian backing vocals and a sparse, effectively utilised string quartet, it's a real slow-burner that may or may not be about Iraq, or Armageddon in general. What is for sure is that oblivion via alcohol is the song's way out and it's intriguing without really leading you to a conclusion as such, which is maybe how it should be.
Polly Paulusma is a real dark horse in the contender's stakes and the single's artwork features a nice homage to John Martyn's first album as well. Clever girl, our Pol. More please.
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