AMG Review of Booth and the Bad Angel

Roch Parisien
All Music Guide

The project consists mostly of Tim Booth's vocals and lyrics washing over layers of Angelo Badalamenti keyboard and orchestra treatments, with trippy rhythms and some intriguing guest performances fleshing out the structure. Fans of the first Suede album will be pleased to hear prodigal guitarist Bernard Butler serving as supple ligaments for five tracks, especially taut on the assertive "Heart" and relatively cutting "Butterfly's Dream" (James producer Brian Eno and Badalamenti on background vocals). There's nothing overly challenging here, in fact, some of it is annoyingly lightweight, but Booth and the Bad Angel makes for an overall pleasant confectionary of influences, moody pop, and melodic, cocooning atmosphere.