Andy Lucas “Weekend Millionaire” (Crimp Records, 2010)

Impressive debut from Scots pianist

After being a session musician and general pianist for hire, Andy Lucas has decided to take the big step and release his debut album. He has, inevitably, accumulated a fair amount of jaundice during all those late night piano gigs being ignored and this manifests itself in the bitter and undoubtedly autobiographical “The Miserable Musical Prostitute”, which rings horribly true. “Supergeeks” is fun, a we run the world now even if we were uncool and beaten up in school tale while the title track describes a man who lives for one night each week, devoting all his money to cutting a dash on the town, and both it and “Local Villain” showcase Lucas’s eye for the telling detail and ability to conjure up a whole landscape in just a few words.

His debt to Randy Newman, an acknowledged influence, is a little too strong in a number of places, most notably “Einstein & The Taxi Driver”, an otherwise nicely observed wry song about an imagined conversation that’s spoilt by Lucas performing it like a Stars In Their Eyes Newman – accent, phrasing, tune, pretty much everything. That (not small) caveat aside though, Lucas’s years of drudgery have served him well, enabling him to bring all manner of influences to bear in his work, from late night jazz to classically-tinged strings, making this a mature and insightful debut.

Date review added:  Saturday, October 02, 2010
Reviewer:  Jeremy Searle
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Related web link:  Artist mySpace site