Ally Carnwath 

Napoleon IIIrd: Christiania – review

Cosmic rock and punchy pop compete for attention on James Mabbett's appealing second album, says Ally Carnwath
  
  


There's an appealing spirit of English eccentricity to James Mabbett's second album. Made in his home studio in the Pennines, it channels influences as far-flung as Brian Wilson, Balearic house and space rock, but still comes across like some loopy May morning pageant. Cosmic whimsy is the prevailing tone: "Guys Just Wanna Have Sun" muses woozily on bare torsos and summertime sadness; "That Town" lures a choir on to a carousel. But this record is also home to punchy pop, and Mabbett lets rip on highlight "Leaving Copenhagen".

 

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