Ed Harcourt
(Dovecote Records)
It’s hard to say why it’s taken two years for this one to get a U.S. home. Most tracks find Harcourt playing to the strengths that made his early efforts so intriguing — richly orchestrated cabaret tunes steeped in sadness, topped by Harcourt’s haunting, operatic voice. “You Only Call Me When You’re Drunk” is worlds sadder than its jokey title would suggest, a devastating portrait of a drunken old friend with Harcourt’s name on speed dial, calling from his park bench in the snow. It starts with Harcourt begging him to stop but by the final verse, he’s inviting him over to sober up and talk about it face to face. In “Late Night Partner,” he’s the one who needs a friend, and when he turns his attention to something that feels like a healthy relationship based on more than need (“Until Tomorrow Then”), it’s set against a backdrop of apocalypse.
Standout tracks: “You Only Call Me When You’re Drunk,” “Until Tomorrow Then” ED MASLEY
