Mr Hudson and The Library- A tale of two cities

Mr hudson and the library are a band which are quite hard to define, an eclectic mixmash of reggae, ska, pop and jazz. This brings about images of a band along the lines of the specials however, but that image would prodominately be wrong. This band comprises of Mr hudson, the lead singer, a well respected man, who graduated from oxford, wears an array of hats and woolen tank tops. He himself has since embarked on a solo mission, ditching the library from his name and helping to produce kanye wests album as well as touring with him. The rest of the band are a well respected keyboardist with a huge afro, one of the most respected steel drum players as well as a guitarist, bassist and drummer respectively. The band have supported the likes of Amy Winehouse, Groove armada and Paolo Nutini, as well as their own tour comprising of touring 12 libraries across the country, a quirk maybe, but the band garnered good support from critical reviews.
The album opens with the track "On the streets were you live" bringing the sound of car horns, before a heavy drum and bassline kick in, with Mr hudson lamenting over the top in his crisp, suave voice "does enchantment pour out of every door? no its just here on the street where she lives" showing that sometimes just a place can conjur up more emotion than you would imagine. Into the chorus comes the lyrics "oh what a nautious feeling, just to know that she's near, oh what a tower block feeling, just to know that anytime she could suddenly appear" coinciding with the sound of the roll of gentle steel drums, and vocal echoes. A solid and enjoyable song to open with. Brave the cold follows on with the clang of piano, as Mr hudson and Joy Joseph (steel drummer) take part in a call-and-answer exchange "say we step outside" "come on come on" "cause we could brave the cold" "yeah we could brave the cold" "the night is on freeze frame" "double brandies" "triple glaze the cold from my soul"
before the song kicks on, a prominent drum beat kicks in as fingers run up and down the bass to make for a funky sound. The chorus "take us out tonight, take us out tonight, in the backseat please, take us somewhere new" rolls throughout the song, with "ooohs" and backing singer melodies peppered throughout the song. Again another solid enjoyable song.
Third song and first single from the band "Too late, Too late" is one of the albums strong points and ultimately where the album starts to come strong. The song opens with gentle guitar strums, as Mr hudson sings over the top "why must i always play the clown?" before the song kicks in with piano, steel drums, bass and drums all kicking in at once, a tight reggae melody uplifting the song. The song is peppered with the lyrics "Its too late too late too late too late too late to wash my face and hands" telling tales of pushing on against the tide of an unlucky night "Fall out the bath fall in the car throw up just pull that window down" followed by "lets have a beer another beer that is a fine idea my man". A standout out line in the song has to be "She's looking good I'm in the mood step up and try to make her smile try to make her smile, I need a line this time a chat up kind to steal the deal in time " the song all the while keeping an uplifting reggae tinged beat, offset by a modern style, which typifies the album.
Next song "Everything happens to me" changes the pace, with the sound of rain pattering down the backdrop to a tinkling piano, as Hudson rues "i make a date for golf, you can bet your life it rains, flatwarming got started, and the bitch next door complained" the song continuing in the same vain with each verse ending with the title line "everything happens to me". As all songs on the album, romance is not too far in the background, as tales of a lady begin to be told "At first i thought, that you might break this jinx for me, your love would bring an end to my despair" ending with the line "I fell in love just once, did it have to be with you, everything happens to me" and all the lines in between summing up Hudson's painful feelings. Albeit a less upbeat song than others, nevertheless a very good song summing up how at times we can all feel like things never go our way.
'Cover girl' tells the tale of, as the title suggests, a woman who could never become her dreams of staring on the cover of a magazine. The song opens with a offset skittish beat and heavy bass, brilliantly arranged as the guitars twang in and the singer comes in with the line "Beauty is in the eye, of the beholder, if you believe that, darling i'm lookin' at you" a clever line by Mr hudson. Following this up is more possibly cheesy, possibly genius lines "darling you'll never be a covergirl, just facing facts, your face isn't right, and i'll never want, i'll never want another girl now i've seen you in this light" the joyous beat carrying on through, giving the singer free range to lamment over the top.
Again romance is one of the keys to this album, as serenading finger plucked guitar opens the track '2x2' surely a reference to noah, here suggesting "2 by 2 the lovers step, through the crisp still falling evening snow" a romantic picture indeed, Hudson furthermore pleading "I hope that they will, i hope they lead me to your door" the song again jangling with piano's, steel drums and gently plucked guitar. As the song progresses tales of relationships progress "The music's loud, The party's hot, The people are the kind I'd like to,Sit and talk with a while" however love drives through "I'd love to stay but no she's going, So I drop her off on the way, She'll need her coat it's started snowing". Another good slow burner as Hudson overlaps his own voice, with the aforementioned lyrics over the top of the line "I won't feel the cold, not now i hear the music taking hold".
'Bread + Roses' is another of the standout tracks from the album, combining all the elements that make this band interesting, the skittish beat of drums, exotically strummed guitars and the jangling of steel drums, all combined with Hudsons ability to create good harmonies and lyrics. Throughout the song, Joy Joseph again echoes the occasional line to create pleasant harmonies, as each tells the story of someone whose only love is cash, telling them "why not give blood make love and don't think twice? too many men they are just trying to get paper" a cracking ode'to'life asking "what you gonna do with all that cash? it must get boring, being so flash".
Again the band are so tight that when the band comes to a close and each part is working in harmony, everything just fits into place brilliantly, a song along with 'Too late, Too late' which begs the question as to how this band are not bigger.
'Ask the Dj' keeps the pace, opening with aggresively strummed guitar, as Hudson groans "somethings not right, there's a hole in my life, so i wander the clubs, looking for some soul looking for some life" as the singer continues "all i find is you, but you make me laugh and thats a start" as the song whips into the chorus "You ask me, 'What tune is this?', I don't know but I like it, If you ask the DJ, On Monday I'll buy it". Another good song that builds up the pace throughout as the instruments continue to twang, tinkle and clang.
"It's always the sunny days, that bring me down, when i'm reminded that your not around" opens 'picture of you' a slow regretful song, with haunting piano's. Hudson consoles himelf however "I’ve got a picture of you wherever I go, A sweet reminder from you to me, That I’m never alone" continuing with his great romantic one liners (i may try them myself one day) "Keep your cars, cigars and frosted rings, Without you here they don’t mean a thing". A sentimental song, but again cleverly constructed with each instrument coming in perfectly, to create a melody to match the lyrics.
Track 10, as the album begins to close, a reggae sounding guitar, opens 'one specific thing'. A song about an argument in a relationship, as the singer says "It wasn't one specific thing that you did, it wasn't one specific thing that you said" running away from his troubles "I'm really sorry that i took the car, but i just had to get out of town" quite an uplifting song considering the topic as Mr Hudson continues to bare his soul.
Following suit 'ghosts' is a song that combines elements of those before, sounding similar to 'Picture of you', a sweeping piano opens as Mr hudson reminiscently sings " Like ghosts we both appear, In this Polaroid I'll treasure through the years, Full of promise and of smiles, We are happily quite ignorant of pain". However as it appears the heart of hudson hurts as he continues "And oh, how life can quickly change, You can't predict the rain or second guess the stars" another great point about how life can turn like the flip of a coin.
'Upon the heath' sticks to the jangly mellow tone, however offering some hope to end on, with the lyrics turning "Upon the heath we sit, Trying to make some sense of it, These mushrooms help a bit, Help us think, How we ought to think" again a romantic scene painted by the singer of a closeness of mind and body. Against the tide of the album the renewed sense of optimism is everpresent "There's nothing in our way, And no ones dyeing here, There's nothing in our way, We've nothing left to fear". A strong end to the album, again with good vocal melodies by Hudson and Joseph, a clap beat to keep pace, and atmospherics throughout.
All in all its quite a surprise this album hasn't been more in the spotlight. The accessability of the album is here for all to see, the combination of uplifting reggae tunes as well as slow burners mean that this could easily sit in your typical london cafe', however there is more to this album than just immediate accessability. The band itself are very original, how many bands have you heard using a steel drum in what is essentially a form of pop? combining this with other great instrumentalists on guitar, piano and drums respectively works for an interesting treat for the ears. On top of this Mr Hudson appears to be a clever man, who also has a heart and wit, shown by his constant throwaway commentaries on life and love. Its not hard to see how this band could have, and should have become bigger than they are, maybe this will come as Mr hudson persues his own solo career (although it seems he may just have kept the backing band, just dropped them from his name).
8/10