An album named after a drug marketed to combat the effects of travel sickness is never going to be a laugh-a-minute. Fittingly, therefore, it opens in downbeat fashion with I Don't Mind, "an ode to the ambivalence and disappointment of middle age".
This is the third solo release by doleful Dubliner Michael John Owens who frequently gets mentioned in the same breath as Elliot Smith. Given the forlorn and fatalistic nature of songs such as Jennifer, it is nigh on impossible to ignore the similarities.
But this is not a record aimed at doom and gloom merchants. Producer Dek Hynes helps to lighten the spirits by expertly fleshing out the acoustic compositions. As a result, the fine Spanish guitar playing of Owens is still to the fore but there's plenty more going on to hold the interest.
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One of these additional layers can be heard on Open Prison in which Julia Mahon's Gerry Rafferty style sax solo gives a prime example of her accomplished brass arrangements.
In consequence, even though the mood is primarily doleful, the songs never become overly bleak or lonesome. It gives further proof, if it were needed, that sad songs can make you feel good.
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