Bart & The Bedazzled - Blue Motel [CD]

2018 release by singer/songwriter Bart Davenport and his band. Recorded in Los Angeles, Blue Motel alludes to LA with the lights down. A new project by Davenport, his seventh album since his solo breakout in 2002, the sounds on Blue Motel are an amalgam of '80s UK pop and West Coast yacht rock jams, sprinkled with cinematic flourishes, the four piece led by Bart Davenport is united in their affection for the sophisticated sounds of groups like Prefab Sprout and Style Council. Their jangly pop aesthetic, resplendent with choppy chorus tinted guitar, snappy snares, sax and bass is underlined with life trodden stories about day jobs, dating, financial insecurities, lost innocence and most prominently, time travel. Davenport's songs are delivered with a happy and sad sensibility reminiscent of Burt Bacharach. From the surreal yet humorous 'The House That Built Itself' to the sad surf music of 'Halloween By The Sea' or the romantic L.A. noir of the title track, Blue Motel arrives with a spoonful of tears, a nod and a wink.