CD REVIEW: Mr Hudson & the Library – ‘A tale of Two Cities’

Oxford educated and hip-hop producer sounds something of a bizarre juxtaposition or a recipe for disaster but on listening to Mr Hudson and his band this is no cringe worthy middle class white boy trying to be Eminem. Instead, what he and his band have done is blended various reggae, ska, jazz and blues elements into a truly unique, distinct and fresh sound. With introverted lyrics, that pass no witty social commentary, but focus on personal failures, relationships and regrets you can get truly absorbed into the songs with the backing band being just that.

Stand out track has to be a tie between their single Too Late, Too Late and Cover Girl. The single is Hudson berating himself for his re-occurring personal faults from trivial issues as lateness and playing the fool to a deeper sense of regret at opportunities lost. Played out over a stunning ska rhythm, this is a gentle laid back track that you will want to play on repeat. Cover Girl is a bitter sweet song about love, deception and naivety in a relationship which examines what people make themselves believe about their partners – personal highlight of the song being the home truth ‘You’ll never be a cover girl, just facing facts, your face isn’t right’ – all delivered in a beautifully melancholic manner.

You cannot pigeon hole this band – with their influences as diverse as Dr Dre, Chet Baker, Bowie, Andre 3000 and The Lemonheads, plus instruments used on the album varying from steel drums to classic pianos, I was at a loss as to what section of the record shop to look in – I didn’t have to worry as the proprietor clearly got it right by putting it on a best new music stand.