Your reviewer was previously more aware of CATH CARROLL in her role as (sometimes vitriolic) NME columnist Myrna Minkoff and through her wayward, but interesting output with the band MIAOW. Intriguingly, MIAOW recorded for Factory even though Carroll was previously often heatedly anti-Factory in her writing career. Go figure, I guess.
Consequently, this is the first time I've been introduced directly to " England Made me," Cath's first album, originally released by Factory in 1991, and not to be confused with the equally impressive BLACK BOX RECORDER album of the same name.
Carroll was a Chicago resident by the time " EMM "was eventually released and the album was pieced together from sessions laid down in Sheffield, Chicago and Brazil's Sao Paolo. These eclectic locations would suggest the results would sound disparate, but actually most of "EMM" hangs together pretty cohesively .
Naturally, the South American influence soaks through into several tracks ;notably the sultry, percussive "Next Time(He's Mine )" and the breezy sway of "Unforgettable," although n fairness if you've ever previously heard the likes of KALIMA you'll know Factory were no strangers to exploring Latin American possibilities .
However , while I think ASTRUD GILBERTO comparisons are maybe a tad optimistic, Cath has a breathy, seductive voice in her own right and sounds entirely at home in these suroundings throughout,not least on the album's closing track, " To Close Your Eyes Together " and the single "Moves Like You."
Actually, it's tracks like these and "Send Me Over" that are more typical of the album's overall sound. "Moves Like You", especially, slips into the space between sequencer-based Factory heroes NEW ORDER and 52nd STREET.
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Indeed, "England Made Me" is very much a product of its' environment(s) as you can feel the hard, digitised sheen of early Chicago dance manoeuvres on tracks like the nervy "Beast On The Streets." "Train You're On," meantime, is a delight for this long-standing BIG BLACK fan as its' furious, percussion-led samba features six-strin contributions from both Steve Albini and Santiago Durango on 'anxious chicken' and 'deep cow' guitars respectively. These descriptions work perfectly, incidentally.
Apart from informative liner notes, this edition also includes three remixes and two additional new tracks: "Too Good To Live" -distant and out of focus funk - and "England Made Me" ("England takes you, England makes you and England breaks you") which, despite its' lyrical concerns, is bright, brassy and totally enjoyable. Both tracks are just as good as anything on the parent album itself.
With help from husband Kerry Kelekovich, Cath Carroll has gone on to record further solo albums in "True Crime Motel" (1995); "Cath Carroll" (2000) and (hopefully) a new album "The Gondoliers of Ghost Lake" is imminent as I write. If this debut is at all representative, they'll probably be well worth searching out.
Your immdeiate mission, though, is to return to the source. "England Made Me" is spunky, playful and inventive. For the most part that's just how we like it.
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