| Stickers On Keys | - Alka Seltzer
- In Space For A Day
- Stickers On Keys
- Little White Lights
- Remote Control
- Long, Slow, Drive Home
- As The Crow Flies
- Play The School Piano
- Scallywag
- Magic Calculator
- Out on Twisted Nerve
- Rating: 9/10
- Reviewer: Chris Long
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With such a CV behind him, it’s hardly a surprise that he produced a quietly charming belter of a debut, Thanks For Your Thoughts, last year. What is a bit of a shock is that Heavenly didn’t see fit to allow him to continue in his escapades at their expense. No matter; what’s Heavenly’s loss is Twisted Nerve’s gain. And what a subtle, beguiling, gorgeous gain it is. Rebelski himself admitted that he needed to move his sound on for this release and that has led to the inclusion not only of beautiful contributions from the voices of Beats For Beginners’ Mike TV and the Montgolfier Brothers’ Roger Quigley, but also from the emotional strings of Lizzie Hoskin (not to mention appearances by all three Doves along the way). It is the vocal tracks that stand out initially. Mike TV lazes his way through the addictively mesmerising Little White Lights, while Roger Quigley’s silky voice ladles sorrow into the haunting Play The School Piano and aches the heart of the dreamy Long, Slow, Drive Home. With repeated plays though, the instrumentals take the lead. Glistening in-between those vocal outings like newly drifted snow, the title track swirls in a hypnotic wonderment, while As The Crow Flies and Scallywag whisper through clouds of shining, twinkling melodies. Stickers On Keys is not perfect, but it is one of those albums that goes in your stereo and never comes out again, growing and blossoming with every listen. It’s a fine mark on the Mancunian musical landscape all of his own. |