Green Peppers - Adventures in the Slipstream

Between playing in the Lanegan/Campbell tour band, Jim McCulloch (Soup Dragons) has found time to release a third solo album under his Green Peppers moniker, Adventures in the Slipstream. Accompanied by the vocal talents of four songstresses, most notably The Delgado’s Emma Pollock, the album is an attempt to explore the possibilities of the female register. It is a gentle breeze of a record that struggles to lift much enthusiasm and at times can verge on the drab, particularly when it’s either Melanie Whittle (Hermit Crabs) or Sandra Belda’s (Superete) turn on the microphone. Their subdued tones may be soothing to some, more of an effort for others. The Joni Mitchell-esque, purer quality of new name Anna Sheard’s vocal on In Time perhaps saves it a little. A folk-country feel of distinct Scottish flavour throughout, acoustic tunes are blanketed with layers of harpsichord, melodica and organ creating an album safe to cosy up to, if not to entirely enliven the spirits.[Emma Smith]