TAHITI 80's recent single "Soul Deep" was the absolute epitome of the smash summer single: The sort of catchy, horn-addled soul/pop crossover to have you throwing open the curtains on the promise of a beautiful day while you hear the milkman humming the melody as he potters up the street.
However, if you were expecting its' parent album, "Wallpaper For The Soul" (the French quartet's second, following 2001's "Puzzle") to replicate "Soul Deep" a further 11 times, then you'll be sorely disappointed, as this curiously-titled collection actually proffers an array of moods and far more depth than the single might suggest.
Overall, that's a strength rather than a weakness, as the relentlessly upbeat vibe of "Soul Deep" would dissipate quickly were it allowed to run amok, and while there are several other breezily impressive potential successors to its' crown (not least "1,000 Times" and the glorious, runaway harmonies of "Get Yourself Together"), this incessant positivity is by no means the whole picture.
Indeed, Tahiti 80's dedication to songcraft is equalled by their courage in experimentation and canny knack for hooking up with talented collaborators, and these are the facets that see them through here. The title track kicks us off, immediately throwing a curve with its' gentle adherence to loops and subtle orchestration carrying you off into your own headspace the way The Beach Boys' "Let's Go Away For A While" does.
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Apart from the tender, elegiac "Memories Of The Past" that signs off, it's the most obviously introspective thing here, but the invention flies off in all directions. For instance, witness "Happy End" with its' Beatlesque melodies and curling pedal steel; the janglesome, but cautionary "Open Book" and - best of all - "Fun Fair", where the loops, mellotrons and massive drums perfectly conjur up the thrills'n'spills, hurdy-gurdy atmosphere of the fairground.
"Wallpaper For The Soul" pacs itself perfectly and every dip is followed by a buoyant high, ensuring that even when they do look inwardly, Tahiti 80 always have the likes of a would-be single in reserve. You only have to check the way "The Other Side" is followed by the bright "Separate Ways" (bolstered by Eric Matthews' delirious trumpet) or the way the searing "The Train" succeeds "Open Book."
Aided and abetted by Andy Chase's anything-goes production and Richard Hewson's luxurious string arrangements on several tracks, "Wallpaper For The Soul" fits the bill as the summer's perfect soundtrack, but leaves that equally familiar, post-season bittersweet feeling lingering in the aftermath. Just like life, really.
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