Ally Kerr
>> Calling Out To you
>> Neon Tetra
>> Photo: Richard Campbell
I can't tell you how refreshing it was the first time I witnessed Ally Kerr live. After well over two hours of watching a series of turgid emo-metal bands who, funnily enough, sounded exactly like Finch (Finch have captured the sound of unimaginative, pretentious dross perfectly, so who better torip off...) Ally Kerr took to the stage with his own distinctively folkyindie pop songs.
Of course I didn't know any of the songs at the time and the aforementioned pseudo-Finch bands scampered for the exits with a few exaggerated yawns within seconds, but put that down as love at first sight for me. The same innocent charm he exudes live naturally appears on Calling Out to You in abundance, notably on the absurdly catchy "Someone's got acrush on me" and the title track (featuring some simply adorable whistling).
Unfortunately the album does tend to drag a little towards the end and there is one rather notable miss with "The sore feet song" where Kerr falls off the lyrical wagon spectacularly, delivering several clunkers of the kind he manages so successfully to avoid on the rest of the album - the worstculprit being "I robbed a convenience store, because I thought it'd make things easier".
In the end however, for anyone willing to give up their pretentions, Calling Out To You is a hugely charming and enjoyable experience with some obvious comparisons to make for anyone unfamiliar with his sound - Teenage Fanclub, Elliot Smith, Eugene Kelly - but though I hesitate to say none of these would do it justice, Kerr has managed to craft his own laid back folky pop sound and if that's your cup of tea (and itcertainly isn't a lot of people's) then you'll enjoy this.
>> Stuart Brown
