(Escarpment Music)

Lay your cold cynical guard down for eleven songs and walk away warmly satisfied.

‘Once upon a time’, begins the press release for the debut album by New South Welsh couple Roger Loves Betty, ‘there was a boy called Roger (also known as Tim Oxley) and a girl called Betty (also known as Jodi Phillis).’ It’s not often a press release is worth reading more than once, let alone nails the entire concept of an album, but the love conquers all fairytale of two long-collaborating singer-songwriters that fall in love, get married and record an album in their own country town kitchen is a most engaging starting point to the concept of this record. Phillis, best known as one of our ‘90s powerpop leaders in the Clouds, and Oxley, long an esteemed songwriter in his own right, have previously played together in the quasi-supergroup The Deerhunters as well as contributing to each other’s solo projects, but this is the first project that starts and finishes with just the two of them. It’s hard to imagine a more delightful concept, gentile watercolour picturebook artwork immediately framing the project as a genuine and soft-touched tribute to the glory of adoration. Thankfully though, the love that runs through this project goes much further than packaging. Seven of Phillis’ song and three of Oxley’s (plus Bowie’s Kooks) cover a range of old-time harmonica country (opener Love Is Waiting), psychedelic-folk (A Walk In The Cool Night), choral surf harmonies (Crazy Life), and as a standout, proving that people in love can still have other things on their mind, the politically-motivated disguised as a jaunty whistle-loaded children’s song, The Polkadots Of Purpletown. Certainly the joyous direction, if not all the material, is going to put some off, but for lovers of wonderful, starry eyed, happy voiced intimate pop purveyed by a couple of now-songwriting seniors who have rarely put a foot wrong, Let Love Begin may be an album that slowly creeps under your skin and gives you the nice fuzzies.

****

SIMON TOPPER

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