Many albums are suited to a certain time and place; the label on this should say: “Best enjoyed in the garden on a sunny day.”
The New York collective of musicians is masterminded by main songwriter, Dave Derby, whose Lloyd Cole connections should give an idea of what to expect (Cole adds vocals to Beautiful Disguise).
The album itself took a painstaking five years to bring together with the need to liaise with the large number of contributors and their schedules.
Worth the wait? Well, some people obviously like making you wait longer for less. The Seasons Of Love isn’t exactly ground-breaking. It is pleasant enough, and works best when the songs and the arrangements rock it up a little, rather than the slower paced material. Always In Love and Winterlight are summery feelgood pop songs whereas with songs like Playing With Fire and Thin it’s easy to lose interest, with their slightly leaden delivery, the latter sounding like a Pink Floyd outtake.
More effort needed for future outings please, chaps.