Smoove and Turrell are back with a stunning fifth studio album, 'Mount Pleasant'.
Conceived as the middle album of a trilogy starting with their previous "Crown Posada", the new record showcases the evocative lyrics and voice of John Turrell alongside the glossy production skills of his partner in crime Smoove and is described by John as "an optimistic look at a pessimistic time".
Throughout their career the band have always flirted with crossover appeal while still retaining their fervent live fanbase. 'Crown Posada' continued the trend with national radio playlists in the UK and Europe. Craig Charles remained an enthusiastic supporter while Trevor Nelson featured the band on his Radio 2 show and described them as "carrying the torch for modern British soul music".
The imagery and the lyrics of 'Crown Posada' were a reflection on the generation that preceeded Smoove & Turrell with the album sleeve featuring Smoove & John's grandfathers and songs celebrating local heroes of the North East. The follow up is a look back on growing up in the Mount Pleasant area in Gateshead – a resolutely working class part of the North East a little down on its luck.
The Hawley-esque "A Deckham Love Song" is the best example of this rose tinted backwards glance to a childhood growing up when as John puts it "none of the kids knew they were poor because everyone was in the same boat". As always social commentary plays a massive part in Smoove & Turrell's lyrics with 'Hate Seeking Missile', written shortly after MP Jo Cox was tragically murdered.
But while those songs and their Mount Pleasant are very personal to Smoove & Turrell they chose the title because everyone seems to know a different Mount Pleasant – with a universal theme being that some live up to their names and some do not.
