Marvin B. Naylor - The Last Flight Of Billy Balloon (Barcarolle Records) If there’s one musical thing us Brits do well, it’s slightly askew, curious and strange, pop songs. Think the Beatles onwards, think John Howard, think XTC at their most abstract and awkward. The Soft Boys finding the shadows on the edge of the sunshine, and Paul Roland taking chirpy pop into the graveyard. Now think Marvin P. Naylor. The Last Flight Of Billy Balloon is a most wholesome collection of pleasantly odd pop: lead track “Little Piece Of Magic” manages to reference Macbeth and Einstein without sounding at all pretentious. ”Belle-Amie” sounds like a literate Richard Hawley and “White Lady” is pure ‘70s acid pop hokum with its nods to sitars and Syd. Great, quirky songs and terrific, very melodic arrangements - if you’re keen on that sort of thing, or any of the above artistes, then ‘Billy Balloon is enthusiastically recommended. www.myspace.com/mbnaylor Rob F. Next