Quite a coup for an unknown electropop musician to have guest vocals on his first album from Elastica’s Justine Frischmann, Cerys Matthews and Ed Harcourt. Clearly, there’s something about Fred Ball. Having spent his childhood worshipping Rick Wakeman, wearing a silver cape in front of the mirror to emulate him, Ball is as guileless and winsome as they come, qualities which rub off on his music. Best is his duet with Frischmann, stylish but aggressive electro-pop, while Cerys is joined in the studio by her mum and grandma, who reads a poem over the album’s gentlest number.
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