There can be few simpler pleasures than chilling out of a lazy summer evening, a cool drink in your hand and a selection of soft acoustic music in the background. Hook’s album “Settle Down” may be such a selection. And a gorgeous selection at that. Which made its release earlier this February something of an anachronism.

Not that this should trouble us too much. Hook’s album was recorded in the summer of 2005 which may go some way to explaining its gorgeous summer-y vibe. “Summer is something I hope for all winter” runs the opening line of “Sneeze” which just about confirms all of the above.

Chilled Out:

The album is full of gentle textured strumming, subtle tinkling of ivories and Jo Hook’s vocal reaching over it all. Taken at face value it features some of the most relaxing music you may care to listen to.

However, without scratching too deep into the album’s surface, you will find that “Settle Down” is not at all relaxed. Far from being a chill out album, it’s actually the product of a band that may need to chill out. Despite the optimism of “Summer is something I hope for all winter”, Jo Hook’s lyrics reveal that, like an acoustic Shirley Manson, she’s only happy when it rains.

Or, as she puts it, “I prefer the rain…I prefer the leaves off the trees” (“Porch” - sung over a fantastic jazzy piano that briefly takes you deep into the heart of some smoky Manhattan club).

Hook Can’t Get No Satisfaction:

At the heart of this album is a feeling of dissatisfaction. There’s a regret for opportunities not taken (“Show me the way now cause everything’s going down” from “Pickle”) . But at the same time, there’s a desire to hide away from the world and let things pass by. (“I don’t believe that I’ll ever belong so take me home” from “Take me Home”).

It’s a feeling perhaps best explored in “Everything Change” which has a lyrical similarity to Ed Harcourt’s “Rain on the Pretty Ones”. This is not an accusation of plagiarism - Mr Harcourt released this song long after this album’s release. Rather it is proof of the adage about great minds.

“I’m a singer who’s in search of the sound/I’m a mole sees the lights prefers it underground” run a couple of the lyrics. It’s a song in search of solace: “Torn in two - is anyone here?”

Lighten Up:

But “Settle Down” is not always full of sorrow and sadness. There is room for the light, not just musically, but also lyrically (“My arms are as wide as a wide mouth frog unless you’re a wide mouth frogavore” from “Wide Mouth Frog” could be straight out of an episode of Blackadder).

Occasionally, the music takes a diversion from the acoustic feel. For a moment in “Halfway” there’s even a Destiny’s Child-esque chorus of “I need you know” that could have been taken straight out of the Charlie’s Angels theme. Elsewhere “Pickle” offers a rare glimpse of Hook the rock band.

Through songs describing the most everyday things: city bores (“Cowardy Custard”), drunken nights (“Mrs Zippy” and “Porch”) and plans for parenthood (“Tired of Talking”) Jo Hook and her band explore feelings of inadequacy, loneliness and forgotten dreams.

Perhaps then, it would be wrong to label “Settle Down” as the Best Chill Out Album in the World….Ever. But whatever it is, it’s a very good album. Musically it is excellent. Lyrically it is sublime. What a pity I discovered it six months late.

10/08/06