Album Review: Jane Weaver – 'Flock'

Jane Weaver has been around since the Britpop era, when she fronted Kill Laura, releasing five singles between 1993 and ’96. She then went on to form folktronica outfit Misty Dixon in 2002, while simultaneously embarking on a solo career that has seen her embrace psychedelic folk, Americana and electronica. 

On her ninth LP, the 48-year-old Scouser flirts with pop: not the polished R&B variety, though, rather the kind of catchy-but-odd arrangements that made Kate Bush a household name, crossed with the kitchen sink electronics of ’90s indie-poppers Dubstar.

Opener ‘Heartlow’ is almost orchestral, almost pop, and almost brilliant. ‘Stages Of Phases’ and the stop-start title track manage somehow to be both ethereal and galloping at the same time. Meanwhile, ‘The Revolution Of Super Visions’ and ‘Pyramid Schemes’ are funky with a small ‘f’; the former like late-’80s Kate Bush with a side helping of strut, while the latter sashays its way into your subconscious, and slowly, subtly sinks under your skin.

‘Modern Reputation’ summarises the entire album, as psychedelia, electronica, and off-kilter pop rub shoulders over six minutes of lovely weirdness. Standout ‘All The Things You Do’, meanwhile, is the syncopated, ghostly echo of a relationship’s end. 

At its best, this sounds like Looper and Dido writing songs over email, and surprisingly, that’s a good thing.

Out now.