Monty

Monty is the kind of eccentric that could only be produced in Britain. Usually that’s a compliment, but Monty's brand of lounge lizard pop for the 1990s may be too arch and affluent for some tastes. Easy listening pop,’60s spy music, chic dance rock, ironically tasteful strings and horns, and silky female backup vocals are grist for the blender in Monty's (no last name, please) brand of crisp, jacket-and-tie pop. It’s hard to tell how much of this is a tongue-in-cheek in-joke, or how much is a genuine embrace of upper-class values; it’s the kind of stuff you could imagine debutantes and young solicitors grooving to in their private clubs. It’s certainly well-produced, but the all-too-comfortable smugness can be more annoying than humorous. ~ Richie Unterberger