The Heavy Circles - The Heavy Circles

ROCK/POP

Twenty years after the funky quirks of ‘What I Am’, Edie Brickell’s voice retains its girlish appeal: dreamy soaring, slacker tantrums and all. This time round, though, it’s her husband Paul Simon’s son Harper who is setting the tone, and The Heavy Circles nudges the singer towards the sound of the late 60s and early 70s.

It’s an accomplished, appealing production, shaped by Simon junior’s laid-back emulation of guitarists like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. And if it knocks some of the edge from what had once seemed to be a genuinely original personality, the result is exuberant enough to transcend its derivative ethos.