Andy Bell
The View From Halfway Down

It was only a matter of time before Andy Bell decided to let loose and release an album entirely under his own name.

We get this beautiful "The View From Halfway Down," which gathers tracks written over four years and never used for his main band (which certainly needs no introduction), namely Ride. And Bell's career speaks for itself: first, four albums with the same Ride, among which we find the seminal "Nowhere," a true shoegaze bible. Then the breakup of the Oxford quartet, Hurricane #1, and especially the great adventure with Oasis, in which he was bassist and also a songwriter from 1999 until the Mancunian breakup. And last but not least, the new adventure with Ride, who have released two excellent albums since their reunion a few years ago.

But now it's time for a solo adventure, and Bell takes all the liberties of the case: we are quite far from the sound of Ride and very, very far from the Britrock of Oasis. That of "The View From Halfway Down" is a completely new journey, which begins with the psych pop drowned in Britpop of "Love Comes In Waves," a truly inviting calling card, and continues with seven other episodes that each express their own distinct and inviting personality.

There are long instrumental or semi-instrumental tracks bathed in high-class electronics, like "Indica" (perhaps the best) and the concluding "Heat Haze On Weyland Road"; we also find the more laid-back Beck of "Cherry Cola," the sixties psychedelia of the highly accessible "Skywalker," and the delicate arpeggios of the airy "Ghost Tones."

Bell does not forget to unleash his main instrument, the guitar, in the abrasive "Aubrey Drylands Gladwell," and collaborates with former Oasis bandmate Gem Archer, who plays drums, bass, guitar, and piano on no less than four tracks.

A great debut from Andy Bell; the only flaw is some overly lengthy parts (in the instrumentals), which, however, do not mar an overall picture of great class and absolute quality.

Best track: Cherry Cola