Morcheeba ruled a certain chunk of the mid-late 90’s. They had the English trip-hop/rocker/rave thing down to a radio-friendly 3-4 minutes (though, of course, there were the remixes…), “Trigger Hippy” perhaps foremost among them. And then they were gone, sort of…
It’s been a while (their last studio album came out in 2005), but they’re back. Thing is, though, they’re not who they were. This author appreciates bands that continually re-invent themselves. However, the challenge in doing that is retaining that which made you the band you were, that je ne sais quoi that brought in your fans in the first place: a lyrical or instrumental style or flourish, a particular vocalist, a style of music.
In the case of the latest incarnation of Morcheeba, unfortunately, too much has changed. Playing their old catalogue, they sound like an unconvincing cover band of Morcheeba. Despite new vocalist Manda’s best efforts (and they are good – at times she has a spookily similar sound to the voice of Skye Edwards, the band’s former vocalist), she is not Skye. The songs lack the depth, the dark, vaguely dangerous mystery Skye managed so often to convey. By contrast, the new material (from 2008’s Dive Deep) is too different, and particularly live, from expectations of the past. Frankly, it’s good music, and worth listening to. The challenge is that it’s not what was expected of Morcheeba, especially in concert.
In the mind of this author, Morcheeba might do well to take on a new name, distancing themselves somewhat from Morcheeba – and thus seeking a new legion of fans. They have the musical skills, clearly, and the creativity, and interesting guest musicians, that made them good in the past. However, in remaining so connected to that past (via a name), they offer an implicit promise of providing an audience with something they no longer convincingly confer.
