Andy Bell‘s new album, “Flicker“, is a bit of sonic time travel. You notice even before listening: the album cover features a blurry but clearly much younger Bell, a portrait taken during the shoot for Ride‘s 1990 debut, “Nowhere“. And the songs are ones Bell had started but never finished from throughout his career, including a few that date back to the early ’90s. He dusted them off during lockdown, brought them into focus and recorded them at his friend and onetime Oasis/Beady Eye bandmate Gem Archer’s studio. “When I think about Flicker, I see it as closure,” says Andy. “The cognitive dissonance of writing brand new lyrics over songs that are 20-plus years old makes it feel like it is, almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self.” It’s a fantastic album, and you can listen to the whole thing below.
One of the standout cuts from the album is “World Of Echo,” a jangly pop gem which owes a little to late-’80s/early-’90s band The La’s. It’s being released as a single on 3/25 and comes with a b-side cover of “Our Last Night Together” by Arthur Russell (whose album “World of Echo” inspired the title of Bell’s song). We’re premiering the very vibey, psychedelic video for it, which was directed by Innerstrings.
The Fat Angel Sings 