Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/30/1991
Run Time: 50:39
The Beautiful South's 1989 debut would be important if only to mark the partial continuance of
the Housemartins' legacy. But when vocalist
Paul Heaton and drummer
Dave Hemmingway greeted the world with
Welcome to the Beautiful South, the handshake came with a Cheshire grin. Nothing in
the Beautiful South was as it seemed. Where there was jaunty, jazzy
pop, crossed fingers warned of murderous lyrics. If a single featured a fluttering flute, it was filled with familial terror.
"Woman in the Wall," featuring one of the year's most memorable melodies and
Heaton's plaintive lead vocal, also featured lines like "He'd enjoyed the thought of killing her before" and "when the rotting flesh began to stink." But even in the album's most gruesome moments, the streak of cynical, caustic sarcasm running through it was as clear as crop circles. This fact only made
Welcome's twee goodness that much more fun, for with each well-placed barb it further proved what
the Housemartins had started:
pop didn't have to be stupid.
~Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
;)
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