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The Kirsty MacColl web site
INTERVIEW
This is a review of Tropical Brainstorm
In promoting her fifth solo album, Kirsty MacColl has made much of her absorption of Cuban and Brazilian culture. But the back cover, which features our Kirsty tasting a bar-load of lurid-coloured cocktails, hints at a more dilettante approach to cultural tourism. The opening track (Mambo) ceratinly has an irresistably heavy-hipped Lation swagger; while Hispanic rhythms, lyrics, samples, guest musicians and backing singers add a sparkle of salsa to several songs. But the album was largely recorded in London with British musicians, and sounds like it. Despite MacColl's avowed intention to filter Latin sunshine through her English cynicism, her slightly polished pop still dwells on familiar themes - principal among these the amorous crimes of men - and is still based around sweetly sung but corny narrative wordplay. There are likeable pop moments - Celestine, Designer life - but nothing to match 1991's My Affair, still her most joyous shimmy to a Latin beat.
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