Firstly, a small confession. Although your reviewer was aware that SHIRLEY LEE – like the notorious Big Daddy, a.k.a Shirley Crabtree – was both a male and a singer/ songwriter, he has to admit painful ignorance of Lee's band Spearmint.
Their reputation as purveyors of intelligent, lyrically-superior pop certainly precedes, but it was only thanks to this single's press release that this writer discovered Spearmint's debut album 'A Week Away' will be ten years old next year. Actually, the only other thing this writer knew for certain was that he shares a major liking for the music and lyrics of Vic Godard with Mr. Lee.
A shameful state of affairs and an ignorant stance made all the worse for the salt-in-the-wound effect of Lee's debut solo single, 'The Smack of Pavement In Your Face'. It's a great calling card, straddling Americana and pithy British indie with its' strident railroad rhythms, killer guitar embroidery and desire to leave its' harder edges protruding. Lee's vocals are close-miked and charismatic and vividly describe the Wile.E.Coyote-hitting-the-canyon-floor effect of falling head over heels in love.
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“What's the last time you felt like you've been in a coma and you felt happy enough?/ but now your heart is beating...you've suddenly woken up!” he sings with a winning mixture of exhilaration and fear as the song makes for the chequered flag. It's very well-observed, very real and more than enough to whet your appetite for his eponymous solo debut due in February. It's a date that won't go unnoticed by your reviewer this time around.
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