Morcheeba – ‘Head Up High’
Morcheeba are something of a veteran in the trip hop genre. The careful incorporation of rock, electronic, downbeat and dubstep is enough to make any band successful; add this to the angelic vocals of Skye Edwards, and you have yourself a pretty damn good band. They released their 8th studio album, ‘Head Up High’, on the 14th of October.
Vocalist Skye Edwards first met the Godfrey brothers at a party, utterly by chance. This led to the formation of Morcheeba, who released their first album ‘Who Can You Trust?’ in 1995. At this point, their music involved tints of psychedelia and hip hop all wrapped into one, with the added factors of trip hop; calming female vocals that focus on ambience. Over the years, Morcheeba has encompassed many genres. The spectrum carries all the way from pop to blues and rock. Each album has possessed a different viewpoint on creativity, with Morcheeba continually striving to evolve.
‘Head Up High’ begins with the track ‘Gimme Your Love’, a pre-release track. Its lyrics are typical of Morcheeba, opening with ‘Close the door, turn the lights off, turn your mind off’. It is set to suitably fitting dubstep, creating an upbeat opener to the album. ‘Face Of Danger’ also opens with characteristically relaxed vocals, although it delves into rap near the end of the song. The energetic nature of these songs is juxtaposed, being balanced out by ballads such as ‘I’ll Fall Apart’. ‘Finally Found You’ follows suit, a more cathartic song with White Denim’s James Petralli The country elements of the track shine through, tinged with soothing guitar and Skye’s own unique voice. This song is not the only successful collaboration. ‘To Be’ features Jordan from Rizzle Kicks, who is a surprisingly good vocalist, and an almost-as-good lyricist. Both tracks display an eye for successful fusion. They are not mismatched together in a last ditch attempt, as some recent tracks seem to be. You only have to glance at the charts to find the type. ‘Hypnotized’ is another superb track, vamped up with scratches and blues guitar. Spanish lyrics also play a part, which will no doubt appease a European, or indeed intellectual, crowd. It adds an extra flavour to the album, resulting in layer upon layer of variety.
Morcheeba prove time and time again that they are not willing to stand still in time, or to bend to the notions of standardized music. They are a very distinct act, fusing together many genres whilst still retaining their classic downbeat sound. Skye Edwards’ voice is one of the best I’ve ever heard. The written lyrics are equally as good, poetic and calming. ‘Head Up High’ is perfect to listen to after a hard day at work, or indeed any time of the day, for the mood set by the album spans a wide array of emotions. 8/10
Jamie Morrell
view the ‘Gimme Your Love’ music video