Andy Bell has carved a welcome niche in the post-Oasis days. His time as a solo artist has offered up a sound unlike the long-standing cultural pillar he was part of in their heyday. Pinball Wanderer explores the soft guitar rock structure and jangle pop influences Bell is adept at crafting. Warm and joy-filled moments of modern jangle pop, soft implementations of neo-psychedelica. At the right time, the likes of Pinball Wanderer can land well. There is room for their sound, influenced by those who came before. A placidity is in place, but it opens Bell and his collaborative efforts with Dot Allison and Michael Rother later on to a free-flowing, spirited adaptation. These are familiar tones that, when carried with a sincerity like Bell holds, can bring on new ideas, fresh-sounding moments.
Where songs like I’m in Love… and Madder Lake Deep depend on collaborative appeals, on the softer tones of neo-psychedelic charm, they do not head far beyond what is expected of the genre. Pinball Wanderer is a sweet release, a welcome listen as the lighter days are prevailing, as they do on Madder Lake Deep. Those moments are easy to drift in and out of, but hone your attention, keep that focus on the persuasive efforts of a song like I’m in Love… and reap the benefits. Anton Newcombe already showed how a sharp instrumental set is all Allison needs to explore, and Pinball Warrior gives yet another platform to that skilled vocal range. The rest is a bit filler feeling, a tad too soft and drifty to make much of an impact. Slick instrumental playing, neat pockets of understandable and somewhat understated bass grooves, Bell’s bread and butter. But the lacklustre lyrical attempts are an unrewarding part of the album, an unfortunate core piece.
Instrumental interest is where Bell’s focus lay. Apple Green UFO hears this clearly as it toys with the soft sci-fi sounds and distorted guitar riff. A neat piece, and certainly a standout for Pinball Wanderer. Bell’s title track is another standout, the subtle instrumental choices here make all the difference. Gently enjoyable material which feels more like catering to the dedicated jangle pop and psychedelic guitar rock listeners than anything. All of it is solid, though it often lacks heart. A uniqueness is not what Bell provides here. He jams his way through a few instrumentally fine pieces but never cuts through with some lyrical embellishment or topic of interest. He lets his bass, percussion and guitar do the talking, even though they have little to say.
Those instrumental flourishes Bell presides over on Music Concrete, the repetition of the title and the electronic surge, are underwhelming. They feel like flippant creations looking to capitalise on a new studio trick. But the choice has no extra detail behind it. Pinball Wanderer is a fine effort though the growing instrumental pains in the latter half are unfortunate. A passive release like this always set to sag under the weight of its potential. Bell does not capture any of the escapism his tones and genre adaptations are closely tied to, nor does he use these structures to comment on anything, not least the world around him. So escape, then. Pinball Wanderer is neither for escaping the real world or opposing it. In the tranquillity Bell finds nothing, and that is a far worse fate than the horrors heard in other, modern neo-psychedelica attempts.
