Andy's Aural Advent: 7th Dec. Nev Cottee - "If I Could Tell You"

“If I Could Tell You”, with its mysterious extended intro, stopped me in my tracks when I first it. Nev Cottee has been affectionately described as the "Manc Lee Hazlewood" and there is undoubtedly something of the moustachioed master about his deep, warm voice. The backing (strummed acoustic guitar, hand drums, neighing horses, waves of massed vocals, piano and strings) and production here, however, more closely resemble that of a soft-rock re-edit such as you’d find on the ace AOR Disco blog site – with all the different elements stretched and spaced out, moving in and out of the mix. (Think also: Bill Callahan, if he ever swapped his wood cabin in the mountains for a trek through the desert with J Spaceman).

It made sense for the 10-inch single to be released on Aficionado Recordings, a label who specialize in the kind of shimmering, Balearic sun-setters that waft out of tents in the early hours at Glastonbury. The lyrics have a rueful, reflective, end-of-a-big-night feel to them: "Time will say nothing but 'I told you so'…we know the price that we’ll have to pay, but I want you more each and every day."