WILLIE J HEALEY
Bunny (Yala)
Men and women wear flares and crop tops, their hair long. Misogyny and feminism are at polar opposites, there’s a riot goin’ on in the streets, and funk and soul document the times on the radio, with rock’n’roll and AOR offering some escapism. Although this sounds like the 70s, I am in fact (says Alan Partridge) talking about 2023, and Willie J Healey, aka your favourite artist’s fave artist, is evoking the sweet soul and AOR of the era, following in the footsteps of St Vincent’s Daddy’s Home.
RELATED:
The Malteser-light wah-wah and drum machine on Dreams track the acoustics of Sly Stone’s If You Want Me To Stay, with funky little chord changes and horns and soulful backing singers pushed upfront, where they reside on plenty of other songs, too. Tiger Woods is similar to another Sly number, Just Like A Baby, and Thank You, Woke Up Smiling and the chugging Little Sister hold court betwixt AOR and the Velvet Underground’s Loaded.
Bumble Bee is almost as honeyed as UMO’s Hunnybee, both influenced by Prince, and stay tuned for the sleepy ode to the cranky-before-coffee time of Morning Teeth and the piano-led, Bryan Ferryish Blue Bird. As Healey says, “I want to thank you, for absolutely nothing at all” – and listening to this LP is a guilt-free way to spend an hour.
words CHRIS SEAL