Shy Child – Liquid Love

On this evidence, it’s not clear quite what has happened to Shy Child. When we last encountered them, on 2007’s Noise Won’t Stop they were pedaling a line of zeitgeisty nu-rave inflected party-dance that wasn’t big or clever, but was certainly fun.

Now here they are again, only this time out Pete Carafella (vocals, keytar) and Nate Smith (drums) have taken a turn that is decidedly for the worse. With one honourable exception, which we’ll get to in due course, this album is quite possibly one of the limpest, most lacklustre and frankly wettest things I have heard so far this year. The goal seems to have been the kind of Hot Chip or Cut Copy template of new millennium disco, but what they’ve ended up with instead falls sorely short. Cheesy “hi energy” beats abound, from the first track (the camp-but-not-in-a-good-way ‘Disconnected’) onwards, and a strange kind of half-assed attempt at a Bee Gees falsetto is deployed to not very impressive effect (‘Take Us Apart’, ‘Open Up The Sky’).

If this was done with some kind of enthusiasm, energy or overt sense of humour then it would be more likely to come off, but the overriding impression here is of a lack of energy. Songs start, hang around for a bit without doing very much, fail to develop, then leave; to be replaced by another that is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor. The obligatory drug allusions recur, either straightforward – “almost ecstasy… it’s not a metaphor” in ‘Open Up The Sky’; or “everybody’s getting stoned at home again” from ‘Dark Destiny’; or more oblique, as in the “feelin’ it now… every colour seems strangely amplified” lines in ‘Depth Of Feel’, but never feel more than perfunctory, like nearly everything else on the album.

I say “nearly” everything, as there is one track here that does stand out, redeeming things somewhat. Second from last on the album is where the little gem that is ‘Dark Destiny’ can be found and here, alone are just-over-five minutes worthy of your attention. Immediately sounding more genuine, warm and actually meant, the track benefits from a lovely little melody, a much better (more real) vocal sound and touching lyrics about keeping faith with a lover or friend: “I’ll keep defending / Choices you’re making” and “Stop pretending you don’t care what anyone says” being two examples of lyrical excerpts that, when written down, sound like they could be taken from actual conversations between actual people, rather than the flim-flam that fills the rest of this disappointing, unaccountable album.