Join Me in the Pines: Monomania – ’80s art-pop brilliance from Bell X1 guitarist

After seven albums with Bell X1, two solo albums under his own name and one with this, his latest project, you might expect David Geraghty to have run out of new ideas. The Bell X1 guitarist and songwriter's second Join Me in the Pines album, however, is one of the best things he's ever done.

Fans of ’80s art-pop will find plenty to gorge on here, whether it’s the synthy bounce of Prince on Jean Bean and Feels So Heavy, the Bowie-esque They Must Never Know or shades of Talking Heads on steely closer Friends.

A sense of fun is never far from the tracklist, which is satisfyingly balanced between lithe finger-clicking, hip-swivelling songs like She Steps into the Light and heavier fare like Bad Blood and Skin, while Geraghty’s sensitive voice – beautifully pitched and brilliantly suited to these songs – has never sounded better. Dismiss this as a side-project at your peril.

Geraghty has proven himself a master of melody in the past, but this album confirms that he’s a crackerjack when it comes to groove and soul, too.

[ joinmeinthepines.com ]