Review: “Pressure” by Lindy Layton (CD, 1991)

Today’s Pop Rescue from a fate uncertain is 1991’s Pressure – the debut album by British singer, Lindy Layton. Will this album be a favourite Game, or does it suffer from low Pressure? Read on…

Lindy Layton - Pressure (1991) album. — Lindy Layton – Pressure (1991) album.

This 12 track CD opens with the tinkling chime bars and warm vocals of third single Wait For Love. A shuffling beat, funky wah wah and bass lead us towards the first verse, and Lindy’s vocals are bright and rich. The layered instruments in this Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) produced track (the first of four songs here) work a treat, helping the track to build nicely. It’s quite a gentle track despite the growling guitars as we head to the chorus, but it’s a great start to the album. However, when it was released as a single it failed to chart in the UK.

Then it’s Echo My Heart, opening with some nice sounding bleeping and gurgling synth layers. At times i’m reminded vocally here of Louise. Whilst the synths give a sort of robotic sound to the track, they’re subtle, giving Lindy a nice mid-tempo warm pop track to sing. This was the album’s second single, but sadly it stumbled outside the Top 40, at #42.

Do Me Baby is next, and this is a nice soft mellow reflective song. Lindy’s vocals here sound wonderfully rich and her vocal harmonies work well. She’s pitched against muted beats and soft pads. However, the track seems to run out of momentum, and the 5m 30s duration probably could have resulted in a better track with 1m cut.

Next up is Without You, and the tempo lifts to give us a nice slightly funky pop song. The track is produced by group Driza Bone (the first of three tracks here), and perhaps this is a welcome injection of upbeat style. Unfortunately, when released as a single though it stalled at #71.

Keep It Up is next and her we find Lindy flanked by a wailing guitar(?) and a percussive beat. Lindy’s vocals are a little buried here at times, and she sounds a bit bored, making me think there’s some irony in its title.

That’s followed by lead single Silly Games – a cover, but giving the 1979 hit song’s original artist Janet Kay a ‘featuring’ credit. The track retains the ‘lover’s rock’ style that gave Janet her #2 hit, and this magic seemingly worked twice, awarding Lindy a good follow-up hit to her success as the vocalist on Beats International’s Dub Be Good To Me, by reaching #22.

An almost fanfare of synths grab our attention in the intro of Drop The Pressure. This ushers in a dance beat and conga section that allows us to build a track nicely around the bass drum and Lindy’s soft vocals. Norman Cook is back on the dials here, and I think that its an echo to his later Fatboy Slim style. The track’s upbeat and sampling sound makes me sad that this track didn’t get released as a single.

Lines follow this, and it’s off to a very mysterious start which it builds on wonderfully. The racing beat, bass, and plethora of instruments keep the track interesting. Lindy’s soft vocals work really well in this somewhat drifting song.

That leads on to Cruel (To Be Kind), which gives me some Where Has The Love Gone? vibes from 1994 Kylie Minogue and something by M People. However, this soft and soulful track is a nice wash of sound and backing vocals, and Lindy seems to throw in some Janet Jackson-esque vocals. Driza Bone are on production for this track, and give us another upbeat smooth song.

Then it’s time for some guitar and piano’s to turn down the tempo for This Isn’t Fair. This takes us to a more chilled out track. Here, Lindy gets to show off her warm and soulful vocals once again, and we seem to have an accordion in the studio too.

Next is Best Thing, and it’s another solid mid-tempo track in which Lindy’s soft pop vocal sits comfortably on top as the gentle beat, bass meander beneath it. Even the backing vocals are mellow, giving a nice M.O.R song – not really the best thing, but a good thing.

The album closes with Let Me Keep You Here, which by the title sounds likes grounds for calling the police, and with “I want you to touch me” lyrics, things are getting confusing. However, the track is a bit more upbeat, with some nice dramatic moments (are-the-samples?) and a nice saxophone solo, allowing Lindy to take a bit more of the vocal space and power – and she does with seemingly great ease.

Lindy Layton’s lead single ‘Silly Games’… backwards (!), 1991.

Verdict

Over all, this album is a good solid mid-tempo album filled with warmth and slick production.

With Norman Cook and Driza Bone in production (there are others), then you should be in safe hands, and they give some of the more upbeat tracks here. The highlights seem to be in the earlier part of the album with Wait For Love, Echo My Heart, Without You, Lines, and also Drop The Pressure being the best songs.

At its worst, the dullness of Keep It Up lets it down – it doesn’t sound bad, it’s just a boring track that I’d happily have lost from the 12 track line up.

With a few stronger beats, and a bit more of the Beats International influence, might make this album a bigger hit, but despite this, it’s a nice debut album whose singles were robbed of success.