Nigel Hoyle leaves little to chance where that all-important sense of identity is concerned. Not only does he record as NIGEL OF BERMONDSEY, but he records all his own material in his shed-cum-studio off the nearby Walworth Road and – just in case you’ve missed the signs so far – his second album is called ‘Nigel of Bermondsey’s London Dreamtime’.
As a result, you may not be too surprised to learn that Nig (I can call you Nig, can’t I mate?) writes with some insight where matters south of the river are concerned. Some may possibly question his pedigree due to his past role as Gay Dad’s ex-bassist, but personally I liked ‘em and I’ve no problem with his credible re-invention as a quirky singer/songwriter who runs marathons and keeps chickens in his spare time.
‘London Dreamtime’ is very much a solo labour of love. Apart from some guest vocals from Tamara Barnett-Herrin on ‘Human Nature’, he goes it alone entirely, opting for the ‘layer it and add drum machine and loops’ approach. This can sometimes result in the songs sounding a wee bit thin, though. ‘Lonely Heart Attack’ and – especially ‘Killing Thing’ – especially suffer in this respect, sounding rather more fluffy and reminiscent of early Lightning Seeds than is probably healthy when a song’s subject matter is mass genocide. You don’t have to sound like Napalm Death to be angry, I know, but this is stretching a point to a ridiculous degree.
Thankfully, the album hits a richer seam with the arrival of its’ fifth track, ‘Human Nature’. This striking, New Order-ish track deals primarily with lust and the guilt prompted by an extracurricular romantic assignation and is all the more successful for having some of its’ wracked narrative (“I feel the tears well up in my big selfish eyes/ I’m not big enough but I fantasise I can deal with it”) relayed by a female voice.
From there on in we’re cooking with gas. ‘Coffee’ is a successfully world-weary satire on materialism and Rock’n’Roll as bedfellows and turns up the guitars a welcome notch or two. ‘How Come Love Hurts’ is a bittersweet, harmony-fuelled affair which could easily be a single, while a melancholic re-working of the Inspiral Carpets’ ‘This Is How It Feels’ (with added local knowledge) works very nicely indeed.
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For me, though, the two best tracks are ‘Across the Way’ and ‘What Have I Got to Lose?’ The former is a heart-breaking and utterly true tale of a teenage shoot-out literally a matter of metres from Nigel’s front door. The incident left a 16 year-old called Ezekiel Ojo dead (“the shots rang out...some mother’s son died yesterday/ and there’s still sand on the ground where he lay”) and Hoyle relates the story with a dignified conviction. ‘What Have I Got to Lose?’, meanwhile, is an intimately personal tale of conquering your inner demons, dusting yourself down and getting on with your life. Live drums, a lilting, chromatic feel and a defiant chorus (“so rise up when you fall and you’ll still believe”) all conspire to bring it to fruition and it brings the album to a close on a satisfyingly life-affirming note.
The songs making up ‘Nigel of Bermondsey’s London Dreamtime’ may not ape Ray Davies’ quintessentially English vignettes or Pete Doherty’s Dickensian villainry, but they still create a valid, modern day snapshot of the Big Smoke on the wrong side of recession. Long may Nigel keep ducking and diving south of Tower Bridge.
Download Nigel's Bermondsey suite for free during July
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