Album Review

Aidan Smith – Allotments

• 2nd May 2008

What Smith sometimes lacks in vocal quality he makes up with charm, something he has in abundance.

There is so much going on musically it is easy to get caught up in the magic and ignore the fact that the vocals are not very strong. Best listened to through headphones to pick up on all the different instruments (many of which are played by Smith himself) and harmonies coming together in any one tune, Allotments is refreshingly eccentric.

Second track ‘Pockets’ is a moving piano ballad whilst ‘Sore Thumbs and Sore Fingers’ rings in your ears like the patter of rain on the window and wind chimes in the gale. Taken out of context, ‘The Regret Rap’ could easily be dismissed as a failed jump on the indie-disco bandwagon but in fact it is a rather poignant number about wasted time and what should have been yet ‘Snakes and Ladders’ is sort of modern-medieval in tone.

Overall this is an album that takes you on a journey through melodrama and humour with a variety of musical tones and influences. Having already released three mini-albums and one full-length, this could be the album that helps Smith break through to mainstream recognition.