OTR: Dot Allison - Afterglow

[illusionofjoy]

This is one of many CDs in my collection which has a sticker or stamp on it stating, "For promotional use only." Dot Allison was the first of many, many new artists I discovered through WAIH. Afterglow was initially released on Heavenly, but Arista, sensing a potential hit-maker, bought out the contract and re-released the album several months after the initial release. The Heavenly pressing is what (hopefully) still sits on the rack at WAIH. My version is the Arista release, given to me by the station's then music director who probably figured, "why do we need two copies?"

Well, truth be told, several tracks on the Arista version are altered from the initial Heavenly recordings. "Close Your Eyes" comes immediately to mind, as the suits at Arista probably hired some engineers to make it more suitable for the dancefloor. True, while corporate meddling in the arts is generally a Very Bad Thing, the Arista version of this song actually does sound better than the original.

Dot Allison exists in a comfortable nexus where Portishead, Dido and Massive Attack intersect. Regarding the third, Allison has actually done work with them. To surmise, we're in dance-y trip-hop territory. I remember loving this album back in 1999 because it sounded completely different from anything I'd ever heard before. "Colour Me" is a hot, sultry slow-burn and a great way to kick off an album. When I was auditioning to be a Ceremony DJ, I played this track in the hopes of getting people writhing in ecstasy on the dancefloor. Unfortunately, ecstatic writhing generally doesn't happen until two dozen spins of a song have grafted it onto the collective unconscious.

There's actually a lot to love on this album. "Message Personal" could almost be a Sigur Rós song, while "Mo' Pop" is a happy little mid-tempo number. It was these four songs that I had in heavy rotation on my radio show back when this disc was first released. Not that the other songs weren't worthy - they just weren't "radio" songs. "In Winter Still" is much better listened to alone...or with the object of one's desire. Good wine should be involved.