When Wreckless Eric Goulden and Amy Rigby tied the knot back in April, it would have been fitting if the long-playing cult faves’ wedding announcement were a flier stapled to a telephone pole. Despite a body of work that recalls in varying doses such kindred-spirit peers as Nick Lowe, Robyn Hitchcock, and the late Ian Dury, Goulden remains best known for the 30-year-old Lowe-produced track “Whole Wide World”. Rigby’s Diary Of A Mod Housewife in 1996 was a smashing work of folk-rock for reluctant grown-ups and a breakout for her, but most folks didn’t realize she’d already been at it for close to a decade with the Shams. When Goulden and Rigby were paired for a show in Hull, England, it was probably love at first set.
Their first full-length musical collaboration – a home-studio effort heavy on guitar riffs, effects and atmospheric keyboards, and driven by a dual engine of quirky chops and charm – feels crafted partly by seasoned pros and partly by giddy honeymooners. It’s an engaging blend, with touch points bouncing from Lee & Nancy and Ira & Georgia to Mickey & Sylvia and Mitch & Mickey.
The woozy, Joe Meek-influenced “Another Drive-In Saturday” finds Goulden waxing nostalgic and quoting Mott The Hoople and Carly Simon, while the twin-voiced “First Mate Rigby” soars, dips, and flat-out fuzz-rocks. “Please Watch Over Her” and the stripped-down, psyched-up “Astrovan” – love notes to daughters and, well, an Astro van, respectively – are genuinely touching. Best of all is “Round”, which boasts both a clever record metaphor and a permanent-ink guitar hook. The album ends with a guitar-and-synth take on “I Still Miss Someone” that Goulden has called “the Seekers on substances.” I call it the icing on a post-pub-folk-rock post-wedding cake, home-baked with love.
