If you're here just for "Underwater Love," get ready to be pleasantly surprised. Originally released in 1997, Flying Away is the first of Smoke City's two albums. The English band consists of Nina Miranda handling vocals, with Mark Brown (programming, turntables, keyboards, percussion) and Chris Franck (guitar, keyboards, percussion, bass) completing the lineup. More on the aforementioned hit… "Underwater Love," after the Michel Gondry-directed Levi's TV spot used it as background music, became a huge hit in 1997, and is the perfect introduction to the trio's sound—one that's rooted in acid jazz and trip-hop with heavy samba & bossa nova influences. But listening to the 11-tracker reveals much more, with tracks like "Numbers" and "Dark Walk" showcasing the group reaching into almost every style of music. Other tracks to check out: "Mr Gorgeous," "Dark Walk," & "Devil Mood."

• 180g audiophile pressing, green vinyl
• includes insert
• limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies
• music label: Music On Vinyl 1997 / 2020

reviewed by singing in japanese 03/2020