Album review: FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION – Beautiful Happening

Absolute [Release date 27.09.24]

It seems somewhat odd that Fairground Attraction were only around for three years, such is the lasting power of singles ‘Perfect’ and ‘Find My Love’.

With debut ‘First of a Million Kisses’ having won a ‘Brits’ best album award, hitting number two in the UK charts and shifting double platinum around the globe, their bright but brief tenure seemed a lot longer.

Having fallen out whilst recording sophomore ‘Ay Fond Kiss’, the quartet disbanded, but here we are some thirty-four years later and it’s time for the outfit to not just reconvene but also release new material.

Coming together once more, Eddi Reader, Mark E Nevin, Simon Edwards and Ray Dobbs have somehow once again found the magic that made their first album such a joy for so many, its deft mix of folk and pop utterly irresistible.

The four may have trodden their different paths since the split but each brings something fresh here because of that, the elements changing somewhat but the chemistry very much in evidence.

This is certainly a more mature album, the band having grown older and wiser, eschewing some elements of the carefree bounce of the past and replacing it with more of a studied pace and feel.

This isn’t to say that ‘Beautiful Happening’ is some sort of navel gazing treatise about aging and life’s inevitable stresses, it’s just a more rounded approach that plays happily into their ever-developing skills and actually captures some of the joy that they obviously feel now that they’re back working together.

Opening up business underpinning again with the title track, what we hear here is an Americana tinged rootsy vibe, Reader’s slightly careworn and characterful vocals giving a real warmth, the instrumentation sparkling with subtle notes and hues.

The upbeat and lilting ‘Sing Anyway’ has some subtle Country touches, pedal steel underpinning the song in one of many little moments that bring a smile and reiterates just how much the band have been missed.

Lyrically the album has its outstanding moments too and during the pensive shuffle of ‘What’s Wrong With the World’ the lines “you can change the mirror, but not the reflection” reveals layers that can only be seen with a worldview that’s glanced at the past. Nostalgia rears its head in other ways too, the delightful ‘Learning to Swim’ a wistful glance backwards that’s accompanied by the scent of childhood smells and sights.

Alongside the swinging, jazz-like ‘Sun and Moon’ and the classy adult pop of ‘The Simple Truth’, there’s moments of sublime beauty in numbers like ‘A Hundred Years of Heartache’ and ‘Gatecrashing Heaven’, the latter’s soaring and soulful feel a balm to the senses.

Whether your particular favourite is the delightful bounce of ‘Hey Little Brother’, the fun ‘Miracles’ or the swooning ‘Last Night (Was a Sweet One)’, there’s something for everyone here who wants a little more than just dinner party soundtracks.

‘Beautiful Happening’ demands to be listened to properly, its curves and flow appreciated and absorbed. It might have taken some time, but it’s great to have them back. ****

Review by Paul Monkhouse

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THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
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