September 2006

Shamus Dark Songs For Suicidal Lovers

The mysterious Shamus Dark is, according to his website, a 58-year-old British-Chinese-Malay.

A one-time communist and punk rock impresario, he was recently found crooning jazz standards in the basement bar of a hotel in Penang and lured into the recording studio by Hong Kong-based producer and music maven Pete Millward. Or he could be someone else completely.

As a singer, "Dark" is a student of the softly-softly school and on Songs For Suicidal Lovers he lends a whispy voice to some well-worn classics – among them Hoagy Carmicheal's I Get Along Without You Very Well and Johnny Mercer's One For My Baby (And One More For The Road).

He also throws in a bit of Joy Division, a sprinkling of Frank Sinatra and a little bit of Antonio Carlos Jobim. And there's a lot of Millward.

The man who was behind the Celestial series of recordings, pens a few tracks, provides most of the instrumental backing and mixes the whole lot together. The resulting sound is smoky smooth with Dark's vocals drifting in and out in a manner reminiscent of David Sylvian.

Sitar, Erhu and even break-beats bob up, as do the jazz stylings of Eugene pao on guitar and together they help cover over any cracks that surface when Dark's range falters. For the most part, though, it works a treat, conjuring up a mood suited to dimly lit drinking sessions.

It's an edgy but engaging experience and, if you're intrigued, wait until you visit shamusdark.com.

Matthew Scott, Sunday Morning Post, 10th September 2006.