Been Around

Album review

A talented songwriter, the American pop/soul singer (who relocated to the UK) A Girl Called Eddy aka Erin Moran made waves back in 2004 with her eponymous album produced by Richard Hawley. In 2018, she graced the studio once more, as The Last Detail, a project she formed with the marvellous musician and artist Mehdi Zannad. It’s only in 2020, sixteen years later, that she is releasing her second solo project Been Around. This (very) prolonged absence is referred to from the first song, as a mysterious voice asks: “Girl, where you been?”

“I’ve always been a huge fan of Burt Bacharach”: this testament by Erin Moran is one of the first points of reference of an album where the melodic sophistication and harmonic complexity indeed remind the listener of the golden years of the legendary composer (The Look of Love and Walk On By). The complex melody of Charity Shop Window and the lyrics of Someone Gonna Break Your Heart resound like postmodern echos of the hits of the composer and his lyricist Hal David. There are some more clear Bacharach influences, like the orchestration which is simultaneously original but also suave, able to get even the most uptight listeners moving. In this vein, some highlights include the vocal harmonies of Big Mouth, the harmonica solo in Been Around and the fantastic piano/guitar/harpsichord combo of Finest Actor. There tends to be a constant underlying coat of placid and discreet strings, that never dare to swagger (Pale Blue Moon). Admittedly, the homage occasionally skirts parody in some cases, but overall the project remains magical thanks to the enchanting voice of the girl called Eddy. Paul McCartney appears to be the other great idol of the songstress, as certain melodic inflections point out in the chorus of Lucy Jack or of Two Hearts. The influences are plain for all to see on Been Around, but they dance around the listener’s ears with subtlety over the course of this album which dives right into the heart of the 1960s and 70s. © Nicolas Magenham/Qobuz