Windmill - 'Puddle City Racing Lights' (Melodic) Released 19/03/07

This is the debut album from singer-songwriter Windmill aka Matt Dillon, produced by The Earlies Tom Knott and featuring their live band as well as Ian Smith from Alfie. An album which certainly doesn’t sound like it was written by some jolly English fellow following on from the great American indie tradition and the likes of The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Guided by Voices, Elliott Smith, and The Polyphonic Spree.

Immediately ‘Tokyo Moon’ jumps to life, clashing drums, beaten down piano and littered with interesting samples. Dillon’s voice is arresting, a strange cartoon-American lilt, the kind that begs your attention with its childish innocence yet sinister undertone, reminding a lot of Wayne Coyne or Jonathan Donahue. The arrangement of backing vocals reminds of the live energy of The Polyphonic Spree. So bursting the song literally reaches out of the stereo grabs you by the shoulders, gives you a little shake, then forces a smile onto your face. After two listens you’ll be trying to sing along, whether you know the words or not. In fact almost every song has a line impossible not to sing to. On ‘Plasticine Plugs’ the lines “Catch me/ Catch me/ I’m jumping out/ Jumping out” or ‘Plastic Pre-Flight Seat’s “Jump out/ Jump In/ Jump out of your skin” demand audience participation.

Conversely, tracks like ‘Newsflash’ see Dillon’s voice flailing, at times out of tune, filled with emotion and led by heartbreaking piano topped of with subtle strings. Lyrically the basis is on the smaller and less contemplated elements of breaking up, with lyrics like “Cherry Coke and breaking news/ Full on/ Breaklights where applied before the rings were on/ Joint accounts were opened now they’re closed.” ‘The Planning Stopped’ starts in much the same way but sees Dillon exercising his penchant for a ‘killer piano riff’ and ends with his heart-stopping wail of “It’s my fault the planning stopped.”

It’s an album that can in parts make you get up and jump around the room like a complete lunatic and stop you in your tracks the next.