Ooberman - 'Carried Away' (Rotodisc) Released 07/08/06

Ooberman have never yet achieved mainstream success despite a top 40 single, critical appraisal and four Glastonbury appearances. Fortunes may sway with  'Carried Away' their third album with Sophia Churney taking over on lead vocals and a trademark richness of harmony and production, an album that bubbles and simmers rather than exploding. Ooberman bring to mind Moloko, Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips with more emphasis on harmonies and orchestration rather than funk, the use of keyboards over guitars.

'Carried Away' the title track opens this box of tricks spinning and whirling like a merry-go-round/ ferris wheel, the programmed orchestrations swooping and Sophia's voice pure and angelic with a yarn about a chappie who does away with his family to avoid being seen to be a failure in their eyes, "...at the dawning of the day/ after tidying their breakfast away...he blew his own family away...". 'Crashing Ellipticals' has anthemic qualities like The Flaming Lips with matters cosmological relating the personal of "...you only call when you want me..." to the universal "...like a comet around the sun, every night is a lonely one...".

Pop flows with 'Easy', a melodious work about how others lives look easy from the outside and the dictum - "...find the path/ lose the doubt...", and 'Eye Of The Storm' like Phil Collins Genesis. 'Bong' is a great hippyish tune with riffing acoustic guitar - "Someone's stolen my mobile phone/ and I'm 500 miles away from home/ but it's ok cos I'm feelin mellow, mellow...", and the phonetic use of the word 'bong' ping ponging.

'Beauty Of Your Soul' is a piece of ethereal pop with Sophia sounding like the late Kirsty Macoll as she does on 'Far Far Away' with its tale of the fickle heart - "...you say oh, oh no/ here comes trouble...". Soundtrack material could be conceived from 'Mary Grows Old' - the tinkling ivories like an excerpt from Amelie or Chocolat, a narrative about a nanny and her sad reflections; and 'Twinkling Aurora' like Star Trek passing through the pearly gates.

'Carried Away' possesses its fair share of ethereal qualities, like what they might play on the planet Jupiter should they do pop. Ooberman carry the spangly pop baton with confidence and bring great orchestration to bear - hard to conceive how success would elude them on this release.