Hit Parade

My thoughts on …….. Hit Parade

While I can’t say my collection is heavily populated by dance orientated albums, there are very occasional glances to the genre in a few of the records bought over the years. You might find a Diana Ross album or singles by The Commodores from back in the day. More recently, albums by the likes of Grace Jones, Morcheeba, Everything But The Girl and Faithless have been known to be spun regularly when the mood arose.

With a visit to Prague to see Roisin Murphy, the time was right to give the good lady of disco moves a more thorough appraisal with her latest album Hit Parade.

If you want a professional review of the album, then I’d suggest heading over to the NME or Pitchfork for an examination of where it fits into Roisin’s career of music first with Moloko and then as a solo artist. If you just want an honest appraisal without any pre-knowledge baggage, then read on!

After several listenings, it’s pretty clear this is a really well-crafted album, with side kick DJ Koze providing the beats behind which Roisin uses all her vocal talents to take us on a journey filled with gorgeous storytelling of her life and wishes to pure dance tunes that make you want to tread the disco floors once more.

With thirteen songs spread over almost an hour of music, there’s no shortage of good vibes to get into, with my personal favourites being The Universe, Fader, You Knew and Can’t Replicate.

The potential gig set list appears to blend some of these latest outpourings with past records from her work with Moloko and early solo albums. Added to the tunes, her stage costumes are something to behold if images online are anything to go by.

Given the collection at home, Roisin Murphy may appear a leftfield choice to go and see, especially in Prague, when she’ll be on our doorstep later this year.

However, having this album on repeat prior to and during writing this post, leads me to believe we won’t be disappointed.

Roisin Murphy. St Patrick’s Day. With Bronagh Bell. All roads lead back to Ireland! Via Prague.

Playlist here of the album, with one of the top tracks on video at the start of the post.