Since I seem to be posting about a lot of underperforming albums lately I figured I’d continue the trend and recommend one that’s become an absolute favourite of mine since discovering it 5 years ago.

The face on the album cover might look familiar to some – in fact, it’s English pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and ‘theaudience’ was her first foray into music fronting the short-lived indie-pop/alt-rock band of the same name. From what I understand the group was sort of doomed from the beginning, being born out of a drunken bet amongst mates at the pub as to who would have most luck forming a successful band. Nevertheless, founder Billy Reeves (apparently not his real name) knew what he was doing musically and as the primary writer created an album that was a clear successor to the Britpop era, as well as the New Wave sounds of Blondie and the Pretenders. The lyrics, largely written from the perspective of Reeves in his early twenties and sung by Ellis-Bextor in an almost aloof and somewhat patronising manner at the tender age of 18, are cleverly crafted while other times toeing the line of plain odd. While the band’s sound was obviously a product of the above influences, it was nevertheless distinctive and songs like ‘Mr. Doasyouwouldbedoneby’, ‘I Got the Wherewithal’, ‘The More There Is to Do’ and ‘How’s That?’ show that the band certainly had more to offer than a penchant for dressing in black. The album is more pop than it is rock, but it’s pop with a twisted view of the world and a tongue placed firmly in cheek – something that Ellis-Bextor has carried over to her solo career of equally skewed dance-pop. Admittedly, my infatuation with the album probably stems from my love of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s own work but this album really is a different beast altogether; a journey of the discovery, joy and heartbreak of youth under the guise of sometimes jangly, sometimes lush, sometimes plain weird (but exhilirating) pop. Unfortunately the band imploded soon after the album was released (and flopped) and now the album is out of print (although it is available on UK iTunes, which seems weird to me) and it’ll probably never see the light of day as a physical release again but it’s pretty easily found online or through eBay etc. Get a copy.