The third solo effort from the former Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci mainman is a record that – in contrast to both his previous solo albums and many of his former band’s best-loved moments – is sung entirely in English rather than Welsh. Aside from this linguistic shift, though, it’s business as usual in Euros Childs’ world.
This, however, is not a problem, as business as usual in Euros Childs’ world has always been a thoroughly pleasant experience. Here, on his second full-length offering in the last five months, the melodies are some of his finest to date, the arrangements simple yet pretty and that voice (for the uninitiated, kind of a halfway point between Nick Drake and Gruff Rhys) as breezily lovely as ever. The likes of opener ‘Over You’ and ‘Horseriding’ (featuring Euros cooing, ‘She got a real fine figure… Mmm-yeah!’) are charming, piano-driven, uncomplicated pop songs so accessible that even your mother could love them; ‘Outside My Window’ is a magnificently stoned, funereal-paced delight; even the title track, which clocks in at more than fifteen minutes, somehow manages not to feel over-indulgent. ‘The Miracle Inn’ may not quite be the album that will make the wider world fall in love with Euros Childs, but it is unquestionably a step in that direction.
