About five years ago I grew mildly obsessive over an album of icily beautiful electronica that went by the entirely appropriate title, Closer Colder. It was the debut release from a brilliant and, judging by interviews conducted at the time, emotionally fragile young producer called David Kosten. If you believe Walt Disney’s head is being cryogenically stored in a lab somewhere, this record will be playing in the background.
Since then Kosten has appeared at random intervals – producing Ben Christophers, releasing a second LP with guest spots from Michael Stipe and Chris Martin – and on resurfacing will, invariably, have brought along a batch of intriguing, challenging music as company. So, it comes as a pleasant surprise to find him tucked away in the long list of producers (including Ben Hillier) credited on this, the third album, from the slumming-it Australian ingénue, Natalie Imbruglia.
The track on which Kosten appears, ’Honeycomb Child’, is almost extraordinary – an unsettling nursery rhyme-cum-Bjorkish vocal chamber piece – that brings the album to an impressive halt. It provides a creative benchmark that the rest of the record never matches. Judging by her desire to collaborate with Kosten, Imbruglia has an impulse to exist beyond the Dido-copyist role her label so obviously wants her to inhabit.
On ‘Come On Home’ she skids through some classicist late '80s indie in a manner that would do Harriet Wheeler proud. The single ‘Shiver’, meanwhile, rips off Coldplay in a shameless, but entirely forgivable fashion. Too often, though, she gives into the temptation (musically speaking) to do nothing but flutter her eyelashes.
Imbruglia keeps interesting company. You just wish she’d bring more to the party.