SANTA'S BOYFRIEND - Swings and Roundabouts (album) Posted by claire on Thursday, June 28, 2001 They say that somewhere in the world everyone has a double, if that is so I have found Sting’s, and his name is Dan Brown. OK, he looks absolutely fuck all like the bloke, but put this CD in your player and I swear you will think it’s Sting who has taken a slightly different musical direction. I have been trying hard to pigeon hole this band and the nearest I can come up with is Emo, and some of the song’s melodies just drift in to your head and caress what some of you may call a brain. Track 1, is a summery feeling tune with a great harmony so don’t be fooled by the title ‘WAR’ it could be a single on radio 1…mmmm,…. if it had a DJ, Shit lyrics, a crap singer, nothing resembling a band and a drum and bass back drop……ok, forget that. Radio 1 won’t play it, but that only stands as testament to this great track. ‘Insect Love’ could have been on the ‘Dream Of The Blue Turtle’ album, as could many of these 12 tracks on this very well constructed album. ‘Swings and Roundabouts’ just grows on you like a malignant cancer the more you listen to it which is a good sign for it’s staying power in your record collection, by that I mean the albums you instantly love are the albums you get bored of the quickest. In a musical and lyrical sense it reminds me of ‘Morrisey’ on some tracks with it’s depressing lyrics to very enchanting melodies and harmonies that are quite moving at times….. ok, enough praise…. Now lets pick the bones out of it. This album seems to be very one directional and it’s a bit like eating a kebab without the chilli sauce “although you enjoyed it you can’t help thinking that it lacked that certain kick” and as much as I love ‘Sting’ and now this Dan Brown bloke, you cant help but want to know what they would sound like if they ever cleared their throat once in a while. The bottom line is that if this band doesn’t make it on their own merit they could carve a career being a ‘Sting’ and ‘The Police’ tribute band. OK, in summary then… Depression + Harmony x Sting – Chilli Sauce = Santa’s Boyfriend. Daz T