‘I want to leave the door open, so I can go in
any direction’ states Richard Warren, aka, Echoboy,
as a conclusion to his biography. Talking about his
music and the possibilities offered by his collaboration
with Mute, Warren acknowledges the fact that he wants
people to like his music and encourage them to be curious.
With his previous efforts, he showed great creativity
in his arrangements.
Hailing from Nottingham, where he learnt the guitar
by listening to Jimi Hendrix, Richard Warren was for
a while the front man of rock formation The Hybrids.
When the band disintegrated after just one album, Warren
expanded his musical scope by experimenting with a four-track
recorder and a handful of electronic devices, releasing
his first single, Flashlegs, and self-titled
debut album on his own imprint, Pointblank. A handful
of EPs for Earworm and Rough Trade’s Singles Club
later, Warren found himself courted by Oasis as they
needed a replacement for their second guitar player.
After Warren turned them down, Mute’s Daniel Miller
travelled to Nottingham to hear a whole album worth
of material, and signed him almost immediately. Following
a first single for the label, Frances Says The Knife
Is Alive, came the little bomb Volume 1
in early 2000. In just forty-five minutes of mayhem
and deadly calms, Warren seemed to rewrite history by
combining about everything from Bob Dylan to Kraftwerk,
Television to Aphex
Twin in a series of uncompromising moments. Despite
its chaotic structure, this album earned Warren a well-deserved
recognition, reinforced six months later with Volume
2 and the single Telstar Recorvery.
Recently credited on production duties for Electrelane’s
I Want To Be The President EP, Warren has also
been noticed remixing tracks for Luke Slater and Starsailor.
Two years on and Richard Warren returns with this heart-warming
pop gem. Fruit of a collaboration with legendary U2
and Depeche Mode producer Flood, Giraffe reveals
a more vocal and straightforward side to Warren’s
music. If it retains elements of lo-fi, noises and glitches
that made both Volume
1 & 2
compelling recordings, the emphasis here is on proper
song structures and ear-grabbing melodies. And Warren
proves to be a true master at carving perfect three-and-a-half
minute pop songs. Once again he manages to pile-up influences
at an impressive rate. From Pink Floyd on High Speed
In Love, to early Jesus & Mary Chain on the
storming Wasted Spaces, Giraffe revisits
Spiritualized, the Stooges, Suicide and about everything
in between. But foremost, Giraffe is the sound
of Echoboy torn apart, analysed and reassembled inside
out. Warren has put some flesh to his bones, squared
up his compositions and sharpened up his melodies. The
most obvious choice for a single here, and our favourite
track, is the tongue-in-cheek Good On TV, on
which Warren sings ‘All that we can do is sit
and wait/For the money to accumulate/But it’s
never gonna happen to me/Because I don’t look
good on TV’, but other songs, such as Don’t
Destroy Me or Comfort Of The Hum demonstrate
equally catchy characteristics.
So, the question remains: has Echoboy compromised himself
to achieve greater visibility? While Warren brings to
the limelight the hooks that made Kit & Molly,
Walking or Telstar Recovery such brilliant
songs, he still retains sonic edge, producing in the
process one of the most spontaneous yet complex pop
records heard in years.
5/5
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