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Flicker Clear Double-Vinyl + CD – Andy Bell CD from Vinyl Records London
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lsquoFlickerrsquo is the second album from Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell. Written almost as a conversation with his teenage self, it follows the triumphant solo debut that was 2020rsquos lsquoThe View From Halfway Downrsquo.This 18track double album finds Andy moving towards classic songwriting, notably on the reflective lead single lsquoSomething Like Loversquo, the strident harmonies of lsquoWorld of Echorsquo, the joyous refracted loops of lsquoJenny Holzer B. Goodersquo and the fuzzladen latersquo60s balladeering of lsquoLove Is The Frequencyrsquo. Stylistically, the four sides of lsquoFlickerrsquo take in everything from modern psychedelia to fingerpicked folk, whimsical baroque pop, and Byrdsian 12string beauty. Itrsquos a breathtaking array and makes it even more abundantly clear that Andy has entered a purple patch in his songwriting, hitting a new velocity in contrast to his initial inhibitions about becoming a solo artist. He gradually overcame these after the passing of David Bowie in 2016, with the Thin White Dukersquos bountiful 50 years of music providing inspiration from beyond the grave.nbsplsquoFlickerrsquo is also an apt description for the genesis of the album. At the start of 2021, Andy returned to the stems of the recording sessions he made at Beady Eye and Oasis bandmate Gem Archerrsquos North London studio and added fuel to the fire, writing melodies and lyrics and turning them into fully formed songs. The same sessions were also the starting point for lsquoThe View From Halfway Downrsquo and this album picks up where that one left off, quite literally, with the very first words being ldquoI was halfway downhelliprdquo.nbsp This is the first of several playful, possibly intentional, references to albums and song titles that litter the record like a musical breadcrumb trail.As much as this is a modern sounding and forwardlooking record, itrsquos also very much about looking back, something that is clear from the first glimpse of the front cover ndash a previously unseen outtake from Joe Dilworthrsquos photo sessions for the inner sleeve of Ridersquos debut album, lsquoNowherersquo.ldquoWhen I think about lsquoFlickerrsquo, I see it as closure,rdquo explains Andy. ldquoMost literally, on a halffinished project from over six years ago, but also on a much bigger timescale. Some of these songs date back to the rsquo90s and the cognitive dissonance of writing brand new lyrics over songs that are 20plus years old makes it feel like it is, almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self.rdquoThis conversation takes place across lsquoFlickerrsquorsquos 18 tracks. Essentially it advises us to stop worrying about the future and enjoy each day as it comes, embracing the crushing, unpredictable lows of life as much as the almighty highs of being in love. Some of it remains unspoken, taking place sonically rather than verbally the album has a reflective, meditative feeling throughout, exploring many aspects of mental health, and the beautiful stillness of first single lsquoSomething Like Loversquo could almost be a musical salve to the heartache 19yearold Andy poured into lsquoVapour Trailrsquo in 1990.ldquoThe lsquoFlickerrsquo Irsquom talking about in the lyrics is that flame that makes a person who they are,rdquo explains Andy. ldquoI wanted to find that in myself, so I went back to the teenage me ndash a technique I learned in therapy and have been doing ever since ndash and got some advice on how to live and be happy in the 2020s.ldquolsquoThe View From Halfway Downrsquo was about turning 50 in a very weird time of introspection. lsquoFlickerrsquo is about gathering the tools to equip myself mentally for life in 2022 and beyond ndash postpandemic, postBrexit, posttruth.rdquo Andy Bell CD is available for home delivery from Vinyl Records London, only £36