Hoboken Girl

Tracklisting

01. It's Not Impossible
02. Are You Free?
03. Corner Of The Light
04. Hoboken Girl
05. And She's Gone
06. I'll Save My Soul For You
07. Raindancer
08. And It's You I Know
09. Shaman All Know The Truth
10. I've Been To Hell

Biog

"Soulful songs, summer rain and angel faces

The world's suffering from a financial meltdown and the harsh winter has well and truly taken hold, but if there's one thing that can get us through these dark times, it's the healing power of great pop music.

Alex Lowe's fourth solo album, Hoboken Girl, sees him turning his back on the raw, rootsy Americana sound of 2006's Step Forward All False Prophets and, instead, embracing classic pop influences.

This time around, the former front-man of '90s indie-rockers Hurricane#1 is wearing his heart on his sleeve, rather than dragging it through a dusty desert town.
Incredibly, Hoboken Girl was written in four days and recorded in only three. Largely acoustic, but complemented by co-producer Steve Ransome's rippling keyboards and warm Hammond organ, it is Lowe's most soulful record yet – simple, timeless melodies with lush, spacious arrangements.

Opener, It's Not Impossible, is one of the best songs Lowe has ever written – a gigantic, gorgeous ballad that starts like Dear Prudence off The White Album and ends up as a life-affirming, gospel-tinged epic that deserves to top the charts every single Christmas time.
The title track is one of the obvious highlights – a tale of angels and summer rain, but with a sad undercurrent and a shuffling country-pop feel.

I'll Save My Soul For You chimes like church bells, the touching, piano-led Shaman All Know The Truth has Lowe embarking on an existential quest for answers, and the anthemic Raindancer is an emotional story of lost love in Los Angeles.
"My main influences for the album were the greatest love songs ever written – but those that were written for the doomed lover," says Lowe.

You wouldn't know it from listening to it. OK, so And She's Gone may have a melancholy title, but it's a sunny, jazzy stroll of a tune, with funky flutes, too.
You'd also expect I've Been To Hell to sound like it was on a right downer, but instead it grooves like Stevie Wonder's Superstition.
If you're looking for classic pop songs and some spiritual healing, then Hoboken Girl is the album for you.

Alex Lowe – he'll save your soul for you."

Sean Hannam