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Rating: Pretty Little Thing.
Yes, probably the title of the first track could encapsulate the nature of this album.
Recently released by Ninja Tune, for which the author had already recorded his first album ("Fresh Produce"), "Biscuits For Breakfast" marks a radical shift in Mr. Fink's production and presents itself as a delightful anomaly in the label's catalog.
Having abandoned the territories of funk-infused hip-hop of his debut, he embarks on an apparently desolate path, far from any temptation to provide a personal version of the hybridization between the aesthetics of machines and the sounds of tradition, which seems to be one of the favored directions for a growing number of musicians on the journey towards a modern redefinition of the song form.
Instead, Fink captures with delicate sensitivity the essence of a sound rooted in the most twilight zone of folk and blues tradition, stripping it of any possible embellishment.
And melting it into a soul dimension, soft and vibrant.
He relies on the essential, painting with light but assured strokes, nine mostly acoustic pictures with sober and refined arrangements, where he places the stories that his intimate and warm voice is able to narrate with style.
A matter of style
A style that proves to be very personal, even when the ghost of the very first Ben Harper almost inevitably appears in the background.
If the most recent deviations of the latter are marked by overabundance, Fink's small, charming creature breathes inspiration capable of bestowing a new, splendid outfit even to a track like "All Cried Out" by Alison Moyet. Simply by stripping it down to then highlight its sensual nature through a delicate acoustic version entrusted to two guitars and a whispered yet intense voice.
But right from the start, from that "Pretty Little Thing" that excellently opens it, the album is a delightful surprise that doesn't betray as the listening progresses.
You naturally enter its sober yet welcoming sound universe. Even when the words reveal to us, as in "Pills In My Pocket," the face of disillusionment.
Fink then chooses a classic and minimal blues, "Hush Now," to make space for the voice of a female guest, Tina Grace. Who proves to be perfectly at ease, moving in the exhausted and smoky atmosphere shaped by the song's pace with seductive feline grace.
But it’s in perfect solitude, guitar and voice, that he accompanies us with the sparse "Sorry I'm Late" towards the exit.
I feel like I'm 21 all over again
I read in an interview with Fink about his appreciation for musicians like Joni Mitchell, John Lee Hooker, John Martyn. And about the enthusiasm with which he made this record, "I feel like I'm 21 all over again," he says.
It’s enough to listen to "Biscuits For Breakfast" to perceive how much the first statement finds excellent confirmation in his songs.
Which, however, seem to be the product of the inspiration of a particularly mature author, despite his "21" years.
A light yet dense album, simple and full of atmosphere.
A name to follow with certain attention.
A highly recommended listen.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Pretty Little Thing (04:35)
when she leaves
she's just asking to be followed
when she walks out
all she wants is, to be led
all my boys say
she's just asking, for it
i ain't sayin’ nothing
she couldn't care less
wearing that dress i tell ya
pretty little thing, hot little thing
hot little thing who knows it - don't suppose it would be cool if we hung out
when you walked by
you know every guy noticed
the way that your dress
clings on for the ride
all my boys say
she's the type to fake it
i ain't sayin’ nothing
she couldn't care less
wearing that dress i tell ya
pretty little thing, hot little thing
hot little thing who knows it - don't suppose it would be cool if we hung out
we could go out
we could go anywhere that you want
we could stay in
and we could do anything that you want
we could do lunch
in soho
or something
coz when you walked in
all i wanted was the reason
to talk to that girl
whose grace is so rare
all my boys say
you won't get her numbers
i won't tell em nothing
pretty little thing, hot little thing
hot little who knows it - don't suppose it would be cool if we hung out
03 You Gotta Choose (03:16)
you gotta choose, you gotta choose
whose going home with you tonite
is it me, is it me, i gotta know where we go from here
red amber green
amber red
you gotta choose, you gotta choose
where it all ends and where it all begins
is it me, is it me, or is this whole game just about who wins
red amber green
amber red
you gotta choose, you gotta choose
is it left or is it right
is it me, is it me, all the lights are against s tonite
red amber green
amber red
you gotta choose
which way we go, i'm completely lost
04 All Cried Out (04:40)
You took your time to come back this
time
The grass has grown under your feet
In your absence I changed my mind
And someone else is sitting in your seat
I know that I said that there'd be
no-one else
I know that I said I'd be true
But baby - I burned Cupid's arrow
And here's the short and narrow
I've nothing left to offer you
'Cause I'm all cried out
You took a whole lot of loving for
a handful of nothing
All cried out
It's hard to give you something when
You're pushing me
So don't look surprised there was
no disguise
You know where I stood from the start
So stop - look around you
You're right back where I found you
Take back your cold and empty heart
You go your way
I'll go mine
I won't stay around here
Don't waste my time
All cried out...
06 Biscuits (03:53)
Biscuits for breakfast
Cup of tea for a man
Four more years of this shit and I'll be
Sixteen
Pushin the trolley
Doin the rounds
Four more years of this shit and I'll be
One of these clowns
In my office
On the fifth floor
Biscuits for breakfast yeah
Biscuits for breakfast
Biscuits for breakfast
Cup of tea for a man
Four years on in this game and I'm almost 16
I want a chocolate
Give me some cake
Gimme so much more than I think I can take
In my office
On the fifth floor
Biscuits for breakfast Yeah
Biscuits for breakfast
Over an arrow
Over the trolley
Over the desk
It's all the same
Pushin' the message
Don't hate the player
Hate the game
It's all the same
In my office
On the fifth floor
I can see the world go round beneath me
Biscuits for Breakfast yeah
I can see my world by now before me
I can see my world by now before me
I can see my world by now before me
I can see my world by now before me
07 So Long (03:49)
so long, so long, long time blue babe
she had long fingers, and a long caress
she had long toes that wiggled when we get undressed
long time lovin, long time love
i got the long time blues coz i can't get enough
long time blue babe
long time blue babe
long time blue
i got it bad, but i got it good
with you i got it every way that a young man should
long time loving long time love
long time before me and you had enough
long time blue babe
long time blue babe
long time blue
so long
08 Kamlyn (04:28)
Kamlyn, i hope you understand
i hope you know i'm sorry that it's your blood on my hands
Kamlyn, this isn't what i planned at all
but don't you know one last goodbye is now a one night stand is all
coz
i left myself, i left myself behind
on the heath, in the grass, in the sunshine
and i watch myself as i stab myself in the back
with the question mark
Kamlyn, i hope you know it's tough
to see you one last time just to give you back your stuff, it's tough baby
Kamlyn, i know it, i know we're still in love, i know it, i know
but don't you know one last goodbye ain't never gone be enough
coz
i left myself, i left myself behind
on the heath, in the grass, in the sunshine
and i watch myself as i stab myself in the back
with the question mark
always in control of it
always in control of it
this isn't what i planned at all
coz i'm always in control
Kalmyn, i wish you'd seen the signs
i hope you know i'm sorry that the best laid plans were mine
yeah....
i hope you understand
i hope you know i'm sorry that it's your blood on my hands
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