(Om Records/Stomp)

I really enjoyed Caldwell’s last mix album, which saw me through many a gym session in recent months. Sadly, the gym sessions have stopped but Caldwell obviously hasn’t, this time turning his attention to his contemporaries for his first artist album.

Known around the world as a “producer’s producer”, Andy Caldwell has had his hands in some of the most critically acclaimed dance/electronic music releases of the past decade. An original member of the groundbreaking four piece electronic super group Soulstice, Andy has created solo singles for labels such as Naked Music, Om, Yoshitoshi and his own Uno Recordings. This particular album has been five years in the making, featuring many of the young artists Caldwell has been nourishing until they’re ready to hit the big band dance music scene with a vengeance.

Mr Caldwell especially likes soulful female vocal-driven tracks, and it’s something he does pretty damn well. Things kick off well with the fuzzy-guitar swiped Runaway and peaceable number, The Real (though the grammatical implications of that title bother me slightly
…) and equally good is ‘Brand New Day’, Caldwell’s own lovely method for getting the blood pumping through my veins. This version seems to have had some sort of electronic tweaking, but the delicious, husky-voiced lyrics have been left alone.

The focus track, apparently voted as a ‘top tune prediction’ at the recent Miami Music Conference, is ‘Don’t You Love Me’ – all right I suppose, but tracks to follow are better in this reviewer’s humble opinion. ‘Don’t Hold Back’ is a fun disco number, ‘Universal Truth’ is pleasant and ‘The Question’, a sparing track that simply plants soaring vocals over piano, is quite beautiful too. Similar treatment is given to ‘I can’t Wait’, this time with talented songstresses warbling over plinky Spanish sounding guitars.

So yes, it’s a tested formula and one that works well for Caldwell. My suggestion is to mix a few of these tunes in with other iPod favourites so there isn’t a sheila-singing overload, as glimpses of the kind of sweetness to be found on this album should be sparing to strengthen their impact.