Keyth Lawrence and the Purple Circle
Figures
I Said! Records

Keyth Lawrence and his group play intelligent, multi-faceted music. Lawrence sings in a personal voice and plays the piano well. He reminds me of Rory Merritt Stitt and Tori Amos.

The elegant piano playing on the title track is complimented by Lawrence's dreamy vocal. His delivery owes something to Tori Amos here and the cryptic lyrics nod in her direction too. The buoyant "Lead Balloons" is worthy of a Rufus Wainwright. Lawrence is a wizard on the keys here. The bitter "89 of You" sees the narrator looking through a former lover. Musically it's playful but its sting is hardly hidden.

"Now that I know there's 89 of you and you only came to play cause you had nothing to do" spits Lawrence. The brilliant disco strut of "Mission" should make anyone want to dance. The progressive rock of "Another Evening" hides a sad love song. "While your garlic kills, my garlic cures" he sings, and makes it sound meaningful.

This debut is assured enough to make Lawrence a name to remember.

Copyright © 2004 Anna Maria Stjärnell