Maximilian Hecker - 'I’ll Be A Virgin, I’ll Be A Mountain' (V2) Released 04/12/06

When songs are used on adverts it usually leads to influx of texts and email to Jo Whiley saying “Who is that on the blah blah blah advert? I love it, it’s brilliant!” And in recent times we have seen a number of beautiful artists and bands as a result of music savvy advertising executives; Aqualung and  Jose Gonzales, to name but two. Nothing on this album has been used on an advert… yet… but it’s really only a matter of time! German born Maximilian Hecker’s third album sees him composing beautiful piano-led ballads not at all dissimilar to the artists listed above and also with similarities to Kings of Convenience and Elbow.

Highlights of the album are the Dylan-esque ‘Your Stammering Kisses’ where country sensibilities quietly filter through the melancholy piano. These country sensibilities are later heard more obviously in ‘Messed-up Girl’, which could easily pass for one of Connor Oburst’s quieter songs. ‘Silly Lily, Funny Bunny’ which in sound and in title sounds like something that Belle and Sebastian might have come up with, incorporates Clarinet and French Horn to the piano and strings which adds a certain bounce to the song. Hecker’s lyrics glow with an innocence and simplicity. Lyrics like “Keep on knocking at your door with my head/ As you’re silly, Lily” or “It’s a little strange how you walk” give this album a childish yet poetic charm. The final track on the album ‘Grey’ consists of only 4 lines but echoes and reverberates with the help of a Moog synthesizer to create an utterly romantic and enchanting lullaby that wouldn’t be out of place on Sigur Ros’s Takk.

Overall it’s a very pretty album with some beautiful moments, however if you put it on the stereo and then roam around not giving it your full attention, it is likely to pass you by. Like a good wine should enhance the flavour of a meal this album would be a great compliment to a romantic dinner, it doesn’t immediately grab you, but somehow makes everything else more beautiful.