LOUIS PHILIPPE & THE NIGHT MAIL - The Road To The Sea - LP - Vinyl [MAY 2]

LP - Black Vinyl.

Beyond the regular tales routinely retold, there's a secret, parallel narrative of pop history. One written by the true enthusiasts and eclectics, in which a perennial favourite like Pet Sounds didn't just inspire endless claims of exceptionality but a long trail of harmonic riches leading all the way to the 21st century. In this alternative universe Philippe Auclair aka Louis Philippe, Anglo-French singer- songwriter extraordinaire, has been an admired fixture for the past four decades, from his beginnings as protagonist and house producer at Mike Alway's fabled él Records label through his forays into the Shibuya sound and collaborations with the likes of Bertrand Burgalat, XTC's Dave Gregory, High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan and Young Marble Giants' Stuart Moxham right up to his more recent adventures with The Night Mail.

A colourful mix of delicate textures, subtly sculpted reverb, melodic mellotron madness, Wilsonesque layered vocal harmonies, and the sort of long lost, very English whimsy it would take an anglophile Frenchman to evoke. And yet, in its transparent spaciousness dotted with charming detail, The Road To The Sea also brings to mind the sound of Summer Dancing, Andy Lewis' acclaimed 2017 collaboration with the late, great Judy Dyble. Not without reason, he is taking the production credit on this album that is a sort of continuation, but by no means a repetition of its predecessor Thunderclouds.

In many ways The Road to the Sea is the playfully psychedelic album that Louis Philippe always had in him, but never got round to making. He has now.

Tracklist: 

1. The Road To Somewhere
2. Pictures Of Anna 
3. Where Did We Go Wrong
4. La Maison Sans Toit
5. Those Days Of Summer
6. All At Sea
7. Le Baiser
8. Wine And Roses
9. Watching Your Sun Go Down
10. A Friend
11. Song For Paddy (Wings Of Desire)
12. To The Sea
13. Always
14. Ville lumière