It's a Pleasure

His father's son through and through, Baxter Dury not only sounds a bit like his old man Ian, he is attracted to a similarly chintzy production that pushes attention away from the arrangements and to his words. This is especially true on 2014's It's a Pleasure, his fourth record in a decade and evidence that he's no longer concerned about whether audiences draw comparisons between him and his father anymore. Indeed, "Palm Trees" glides by on a bit of cod Euro-disco that can't help but recall Do It Yourself and much of It's a Pleasure follows suit, favoring tightly sequenced drum machines warmed by cooing female backing vocals. The neo-new wave vibe here is often appealing -- it hits an apex on the vaguely paranoid "Whispered," a minor-key, slyly propulsive gem -- and if Dury could stand to enunciate with precision, his marble-mouth mumble nevertheless works as texture, turning this record into a peculiar, distinctive oddity that seems as if it's all about words when it's really all about feel. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine