Nope – not an Elton John tribute act. In fact Sheffield’s Tiny Dancers claim that their moniker is not taken from the song of the same name. They must have got it from watching a particularly musical episode of the Borrowers or something then. Either way it seems to be doing them no harm as they release this, their debut album out on Parlophone, to a fair bit of attention.
The first thing you notice about the band is that singer David Kay sounds rather a lot like Neil Diamond. To the point that I reckon he’d probably do pretty well on ‘Stars In Their Eyes’. He is blessed with a voice that is richer than Roman Abramovich and for the most part ‘Free School Milk’ showcases this. His vocals are generally left to standout above the music and, unless it grates on you as some distinctive voices can, this is generally a good thing.
It is particularly striking on the moody ’20 to 9’, a rather strong opening to the collection and a track reminiscent of Scott Walker’s Philips albums. With its moody drums and atmospherics it is actually at odds with much of the rest of the album. For it is on the following trio of songs that Tiny Dancers put forward their real manifesto. ‘I Will Wait For You’ and ‘Baby Love’ is where the Neil Diamond comparisons are at their most obvious with its melody sounding rather like something he might have released in his 70s heyday. Name-checking hometown Sheffield (“this city of steel”), the former utilises a variety of pop techniques including pauses, “oo-oohs” and a slowed down climax to infectious effect. The latter, and indeed, following track ‘Shame’ continue this pop-by-numbers approach with the desired results, and each hover remarkably close to the three minute mark.
Another trio of songs follow that see Tiny Dancers stray a little from the formula. ‘Ashes and Diamonds’ (presumably not referring to Neil) and ‘Moon Song #2’ are earnest slow burners that hit almost epic scale. Both show a darker side to Tiny Dancers with lyrics such as “I blame it all on you” and “It goes from up to down, it goes from hot to cold”. Sandwiched in between is the charming ‘Bonfire Of The Night’, a ditty based around fingerpicked acoustic guitar, handclaps and “ba ba” backing vocals. It is the most throwaway of the tracks on ‘Free School Milk’ and actually serves to emphasise the polished nature of the rest of the album. It is this polished sound that returns for the remainder of the album, with the only variety coming by way of a slight country tinge to ‘Sun Goes Down’ and in ‘Deep Water’ which rounds off the album with pleasing symmetry to ’20 to 9’.
Tiny Dancers are clearly more than in touch with their pop side, something label Parlophone has obviously recognised. With John Leckie manning production duties, everything about this album feels shiny and sparkly to really force home the record’s accessibility. That said, despite the odd overindulgence in the production department, ‘Free School Milk’ is for the most part free from pretension or any desire to be placed in a pigeonhole. It’s a good old fashioned pop rock record, with infectious hooks a plenty.
To be honest, though, such is the syrupy nature of the majority of the album,
The likes of ’20 to 9’, ‘Ashes to Diamonds’ and ‘Moon Song 2’ prove that Tiny Dancers can write songs with more depth than is often evident. A few more of these and a few more breaks from the smiley onslaught and it would be a stronger album for it. ‘Free School Milk’ attempts little past tried and trusted formuale and is in no way cutting edge, but is ambitious for a debut album if only for it’s size. I’d much rather the charts were full of song by Tiny Dancers than the usual dross but I don’t think I’ll be listening to it front to back again.
First published on rockfeedback.com. See it here.
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