British duo Olive follow up
EXTRA VIRGIN, their full-length debut, with TRICKLE, a near-perfect blend of pop and trip-hop/techno that marks their move to
Madonna's Maverick label. Olive get a head start this time around with a soundtrack cut: their remake of
10cc's "I'm Not in Love," heard in the Madonna film
THE NEXT BEST THING. Keyboardist/trumpeter/producer Tim Kellet (formerly of
Simply Red) and vocalist Ruth-Ann Boyle dispense with the atmospherics of the '70s original and aim for the dance floor with skittering trip-hop beats, swirling keyboard runs, and Boyle's coolly soulful vocals. The pair aren't out to break new ground on TRICKLE, but their crisp pop -- which takes musical cues from both '80s new wave (
Duran Duran comes to mind) and the end-of-millennium dance-floor trends propelled by
Portishead and
Mono, while lyrically exploring love and relationships -- still sounds fresh. It's a combination that on songs such as the slippery and moody "Indulge Me" and the airy meditation "Love Affair" casts Olive as a smoother-edged
Everything but the Girl.
Marie Elsie St. Léger
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