Imelda May
Mayhem
Album · Pop · 2011 · Decca (UMO)
On her second album of originals (following 2008’s Love Tattoo), May continues to invigorate traditional rockabilly. “Psycho” and “Sneaky Freak” are closer to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ punky yelps than anything you’d find down your local saloon, though the prominent brass section that colors proceedings elsewhere (“Inside Out”) makes May’s speakeasy seem especially classy. Her ballads are luminous too: it’s not hard to see why Lou Reed asked her to re-record “Kentish Town Waltz” with him.
Mayhem
Imelda May
On her second album of originals (following 2008’s Love Tattoo), May continues to invigorate traditional rockabilly. “Psycho” and “Sneaky Freak” are closer to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ punky yelps than anything you’d find down your local saloon, though the prominent brass section that colors proceedings elsewhere (“Inside Out”) makes May’s speakeasy seem especially classy. Her ballads are luminous too: it’s not hard to see why Lou Reed asked her to re-record “Kentish Town Waltz” with him.
