Morcheeba create a simple and relaxing kind of pop music that has an extremely wide-ranging appeal. This was highlighted to me when my mother in law, who is scathing of any music created since Elvis was hanging out in Honolulu, actually said favourable things about the album. It’s the first time in almost twenty years that we’ve ever agreed on anything to do with music!

While the band has released two albums during the past five years using a variety of different vocalists, Blood Like Lemonade once again features the voice of Skye, the group’s original singer who did such an amazing job on Big Calm. The Big Calm album was my introduction to Morcheeba and to this day it remains a firm favourite when downtempo, relaxing music is called for. Skye’s return to the fold will certainly please fans of their early releases. She adds magic to their simple recipe, providing a wow factor that leaves you wanting more and more.

As Big Calm was such an amazing album, I found myself doing little comparisons with Blood Like Lemonade. The first time I listened through, as always I found myself a little bit disappointed. This is a trait of mine, as I tend to spend most of the time in ‘Regurgitator’ mode, singing, “I liked your old stuff better than your new stuff” whenever I hear a new album. When I went straight back into the album for a second listen, though, I loved what I heard.

If the album title alludes to the vampish thought that blood and food can be intertwined then opening with a delicious track entitled Crimson only muddies the waters further. The opening sequence of the album is definitely the strongest phase of the album and the title track, which is the catchiest song on the album is right there as the third song. Whilst I’m typically not a fan of the catchy pop tune, I feel that Morcheeba really could have done with another song or two that invited the listener to sing along (badly in my case) as this one does. It has a great hook and simple lyrics and it’s one of the few songs on the album that has both these qualities. If there’s going to be a single from the album that is most likely to be a hit, this is it.

However, this lack of more up-tempo numbers that people can easily identify with will probably mean that the album doesn’t get the radio airplay that it really deserves. Most of the songs on Blood Like Lemonade follow a fairly formulaic pattern with two verses and then choruses filling the spaces, but one track that doesn’t is the virtually instrumental song Mandala. There is a voice used in the track, but it’s used purely to convey a sound effect and not to convey any form of story. On first listen it sounded like a rather weak filler, but it’s actually a nice departure from their standard formula and offers a much needed point of difference.

On the subject of stories, Recipe For Disaster is probably the best one here. It’s hauntingly beautiful due to Skye’s amazing voice but the lyrics also intriguing. It’s about someone lamenting the passing of a love. A love she killed for spoiling dinner for being drunk! It has a sense of macabre humour that really appeals to me.

That’s one of the really great things about Morcheeba and probably why they appeal to such a wide audience. On the surface you have pretty-sounding music that can be played at dinner parties or even to your music-hating relatives without offending them. But scratch the surface and look beyond the obvious and you discover a world created by very talented musicians.

If you loved Big Calm, then I’d seriously suggest this as a further addition to the Morcheeba section of your music collection. Also, if you play it at any dinner parties you hold, please don’t exact revenge upon your guests if they appear intoxicated. It might just be your choice in music.

Blood Like Lemonade is out now on Pias Recordings through Liberator Music.