Labels: Framework
Review by: Andy Malcolm
So this got sent in MONTHS ago, apologies to all concerned. I got super excited when this turned up, Fred Thomas’ hit rate for me is about 90%, and considering how many blimmin’ records he’s made, that’s pretty good going. Night Times falls quite handily into that 90%, perhaps that means the percentage has gone up a percent or 2, assuming Fred has been involved in X different records? You do the maths. Anyway, I just read that Fred recorded these songs in 2009 anyway, so I am not feeling half as bad as I was a few minutes ago. So yeah, I can’t really explain why it took so long, I think it got to the point where it was like I was handing in home work so late, that it no longer mattered, each extra day was fairly insignificant in the scheme of things…
So this LP is a fairly minimal, low key effort, Fred played virtually every thing you hear on here, and it’s not just one guy and a guitar for the most part. Tracks like “Anything” have gentle electronic flavours, warm and soothing, the kind of thing that makes for a good listen on a grey afternoon in Autumn or a fuzzy headed post hangover listen, a bit like that first City Center LP, although in a fairly different fashion. Each track drifts in and out, never quite making a full impression but never disappointing either, just calmly gliding by, leaving you with a very solid collection of gentle home-made pop music that delivers on pretty much every track.
If you ever liked a Fred Thomas LP and want a new one, then you really can’t go wrong with this. It’s a good starting point too if you just want to dive in. I hope you quickly find yourself as up to the neck as I do.