Kevin Rowland has always been an artist with an exacting vision. His time in
Dexys Midnight Runners in the '80s and his 1999 solo album
My Beauty proved without a doubt he's compelled to follow it no matter the strange paths it might lead him down or the commercial results it may or may not garner. Since returning under the name
Dexys in the early 2010s, he's once again made music that defies expectations in strange and sometimes wonderful, sometimes exasperating ways. Though
One Day I'm Going to Soar might have been close to the kind of theatrical and rollicking music a dedicated fan might expect,
Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country Soul is a covers album that swerves into some left turns ("The Greatest Love of All") and gives
Rowland a chance to beautifully explore his Irish roots on a set of heartbreaking traditional ballads. On 2023's
The Feminine Divine,
Rowland takes a very different tack, digging into some vintage
Dexys circa 1982 horn-chart soul while also expanding his toolkit to include hip-hop, dance music, and contemporary R&B. The production is slick and polished, full of smooth backing vocals, shimmering synths, and the occasional drum program. It's too clean and sparkling, especially when balanced against
Rowland's brutally honest lyrics that skewer his past feelings and actions toward women. He spends half of the album detailing his failings, sometimes jauntily, as on the peppy, Northern soul-influenced "I'm Going to Get Free," other times with a more subtle touch as on the trip-hop-smooth title track. The rest of the time, he's celebrating women and pledging his unfailing devotion. Tracks like "My Goddess Is" and "Goddess Rules" are love songs of submission, a point made clear by the lengthy ballad "My Submission," where
Rowland nakedly strips his ego to the struts and rebuilds himself to his lover's specifications. It's a noble and seemingly honest attempt on his part to bare his soul that's somewhat blunted by how smoothly the music goes down. A few more rough edges or moments where it sounds like there was a band playing together and whipping up some excitement would have gone a long way towards injecting the album with some much-needed zest.
Rowland's undimmed vocal prowess isn't quite enough to bring it to life, though he gives it his all as usual. Nobody expects him to go back in time and deliver another classic album like
Too-Rye-Ay, but it doesn't seem too much to ask for him to make a record that has more zip than this. That being said, it's always good to get another transmission from the heart and soul of
Kevin Rowland, even one lacking the sweat and excitement he usually delivers. ~ Tim Sendra
