Six years after forming
the United Nations of Sound
-- a pseudo-group that lasted no more than a single record --
Richard Ashcroft
pushes himself back into the spotlight on
These People
, a 2016 album that finds the former
Verve
singer reuniting with
Wil Malone
, an orchestrator who worked on
Urban Hymns
and
Northern Soul
.
Malone
's presence suggests
may achieve a certain symphonic heft, yet
Ashcroft
sidesteps the churning psychedelia and progressive majesty of
the Verve
's prime. In its place, the singer/songwriter taps into a certain insouciant sophistication, favoring insistent arena anthems and finely tailored Eurodisco. Often,
's intentions are apparent -- it's evident whenever he's following the blueprints of "Bittersweet Symphony" and "The Drugs Don't Work," just as it's clear that the dance beats and electronics are a bid for hip credibility -- but he winds up with sounds that aren't the ideal vehicle for whatever vague sociological protest
attempts to mine here. If the music is separated from the message -- which is fairly easy to do, due to its slippery shimmer --
functions as a pleasing adult alternative record. True, it's an album that favors mood over form but after several somnolent solo records, not to mention the botched ambitions of
, the cool assurance and shiny veneer of
is quite welcome. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine