By Keith Walsh
It’s not often that an entire album becomes a favorite on first listen. The Modesty Blaise LP by England’s Modesty Blaise, makes me extremely happy. The entire album is brilliantly written, arranged and played, but its most important quality is the sense of idealism and innocence that pervades the record.

There’s an important qualification to this. Led by writer and vocalist Jonny Collins and named after a British comic strip of the 1960s, Modesty Blaise has been around since 1993 in one form or another. It’s not unusual for young bands to write with a sense of innocence, but to have maintained a positive, humorous and idealistic sense into your forties and fifties is a worthy feat. Actually, it’s miraculous, considering Collin’s bio on ModestyBlaise.net documents his lean years when he slept in abandoned cars while picking up occasional work as a gravedigger.

“I’ve been around I’ve been picked up and put back down
Still I really love you
I Love You (You know I do)
You know I do

It’s love in all it’s glory
You stole my heart and that’s my story
Deep inside, deep down inside
I am waiting for the day
When you’re gonna say that you love me too”
(From “I Love You” by Modesty Blaise)

Collin’s love song to his flame Natalie Vendredi, which emanates devotion so purely, was the second single from the album. Apparently Collins had loved someone in France? It’s utterly charming, and to hear his profession of love in such an innocent way is refreshing.

And while the lyrics are innocent, by no means do I mean that the instrumentation or writing is rustic or unskilled – on the contrary, I’m referring to the sweetness of the lyrics, melodies, the whole approach. From song to song, with sounds that span 60s baroque pop through 80s guitar-based cleverness, up to present-day alternative pop, the 11 track set is loaded with gems. In addition to the the sweetly fine soprano vocals of Collins, David W. Brown turns in a solid performance on bass guitar, with skilled work by Gregory Jones on guitar, Mark Bradley on drums, Alistair Jenkins also on guitar, and Roger MacDuff on violin. There’s some respectable keyboard work on the album as well, and I intend to find out who played it.

It’s a love of music and the popular song format that feeds the optimism of Modesty Blaise and keeps the band strong:

“I was thinking of a time when love was all around
For your consideration I shall tell you what I found
Wrap your best ideas in a massive wall of sound
Turn it up and then it will last forever”
(From “Catwalk Queens” by Modesty Blaise)

The Modesty Blaise is on the Lo-Fi To Disco! label from Germany and produced by Jonny Collins and Dorothy Colllins (not sure if there’s a relationship, but I hope to secure an interview and find out).

ModestyBlaise.net
Modesty Blaise On Bandcamp
Modesty Blaise On Spotify
Modesty Blaise On Facebook
From Lo-Fi To Disco

Band Photo by M.M. Van Dyke.

finis