Mark Hilton & The Lavender Girls - A Good Man

Author

Marisa Wikramanayake

Published

Tuesday 17th March

The bliss of the tropical lifestyle, exotic eastern temptresses and oversexed dangerous women: these are the subjects that Mark Hilton sings about in a voice reminiscent of Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. The aim of the new Mark Hilton & The Lavender Girls record A Good Man seems to have been to create a sense of exotic glamour. To the mix of all things exotic is added the occasional whinge topic of how life isn’t what it used to be and friends who have gone insane.

The tracks that Mark Hilton had the most fun writing and recording are the ones that are most enjoyable. When Mark is clear about what he wants to say, tracks like Miss Su Li (eastern exotic temptress), Barry (friend gone insane), Emogene (stream of consciousness), and When You Said (good memories) work perfectly, making you smile. Some tracks suffer from the instruments drowning Mark’s voice out and others from needing to be rewritten for clarity. Some suffer from an identity crisis, the last track so much so that even the interwoven recording of street bustle does not save it.

Despite the entire record potentially reading like a look into the stereotypical average white 40 plus male psyche – wrought with assumptions rather than ideas – it is possible to enjoy it. The star track is not the title one but Never Forget You, about coming to terms with a past relationship. It is surprisingly jazzy and upbeat, Tony Frey’s drumming is a delight and it makes you want to get up and dance.