Review: Morcheeba – Head Up High

Morcheeba are one of those household names in alternative British music that you sort of always need to respect, regardless of what they produce. In the 90s when they were at their pinnacle, they broke barriers and boundaries of genre, mixing elements of hip hop, jazz, electronic music and rock to produce their unmistakeably trippy sound.

Now, with the 90s long gone, Morcheeba are back with their 8th studio album – Head Up High – and it’s the definition of ‘mixed bag’. Ranging from Radiohead-esque alt-rock to hippy-friendly trip-hop offerings, Head Up High is very much its own entity. Not one to follow trends, Morcheeba have certainly stayed true to their motto on this album, but in doing so have come across as slightly – dare I say it – dated. First track ‘Gimme Your Love’ is so stale I can smell the lemon hooch and cheap incense a mile off.

‘Call It Love’ is more of the same and firmly stuck in it’s OK Computer default setting, but what would have been contemporary and even groundbreaking back then, is just plain boring now. Nothing is new, not even the lyrical content. C’mon Morcheeba – could do better.

Going for a ‘poppier’ vibe, ‘To Be’ features those bouncy boys Rizzle Kicks and looks set to be a cert top ten hit. Unfortunately, like so many artists these days, it seems that Morcheeba (or Rizzle Kicks at least) have been indoctrinated into the mantra of ‘lets make a tune and spit about MDMA’ which frankly is getting old. Still, I would imagine the formulaic Rizzle Kicks sound will push Morcheeba up a few spots on the chart.

When it comes to collaborations, Head Up High isn’t shy: Charli 2Na makes an appearance, as does James Petralli from White Denim. ‘Hypnotised’ features French lady-rapper Ana Tijoux and proves to be one of the best tracks on the album; her French/Spanish flow floating perfectly over the top of Morcheeba’s sound. ‘To The Grave’ is the climax: dark, tense, bass-ey and with more than a hint of dubstep for good measure, it seems by track ten Morcheeba have finally found their feet.
Don’t get me wrong – this album is by no means terrible. It’s much better than the vast majority of music being pumped out at present, but you can’t ignore the fact that what has been produced just isn’t as exciting as one might have hoped.

With all this said, it’s important to remember one thing: this album is 100% Morcheeba. And Morcheeba fans will certainly not be disappointed. It’s just a little sad that a band that was previously so forward-thinking have settled for the same old formula. We’re just lucky that said formula happens to be a pretty good one.

– Liz Ward