Flight
La Bella Figura, 2021
8/10
The recording moniker of singer and composer Paul Darrah, as Tenant From Zero the artist pairs nostalgic and modern sounds where pop ideas are textured, often romantic and take influence from the British sounds Darrah grew up on.
“ZRH” starts the listen with plenty of soul entering the tuneful, retro pop approach where backing female vocals make an impact, and “The End Away” follows with a bright and very melodic delivery of brass friendly song craft that’s entirely beautiful and timeless.
Close to the middle, “The Bomb You Dropped” recruits synth stabs in its busy and playful execution, while “After” unfolds with warm piano amid the ballad like climate that’s both soothing and elegant. “Properly Wrecked By John”, one of the album’s best, then places strings, dynamic percussion and R&B nods amid sublime sax prowess.
Near the end, “Yellow And Blue” moves gently and with a dreaminess to the mature songwriting, and “Still Empty Rooms” exits the listen with a sparse atmosphere of expressive singing and a poetic quality where a string arrangement adds much to the emotive landscape.
This is Tenant From Zero’s first album, but you sure wouldn’t know it based on the strong songwriting and excellent delivery that often parallels the greatness of Bryan Ferry.
Travels well with: Allbut6ix- Like A River; Satellites- Love & Disaster