Actress, poet, singer, Soho boho and all round artistic Renaissance woman, Sukie Smith a.k.a. Madam, has just released a debut album to expand on the two singles of the past year. Thus the one time (2006) minor Eastender follows in the footsteps of Nick Berry and Anita Dobson. Thankfully all similarities between the three end right there. It’s an intriguing, slightly sinister, frequently warped mix of avant-acoustic. Her alter-go is half chanteuse, half bunny boiler - “I sleepwalk through my ordinary life, but I’m awake to be your shadow wife” (’Still’). There are hints of Kate Bush, Velvet Underground, Portishead, early PJ Harvey, but she has managed to create her own persona. You can imagine a tousle-haired woman, much the worse for wear - all smeared lipstick, laddered tights and broken nails - but a faded glamour persists: “These red boots should act as a warning/I don’t remember how I got home last night/Count all the teeth in my head this morning/Try to remember what you look like” (’Calling For Love’). As Smith/Madam proclaims on her website: “Sometimes it’s easier to tell secrets when you’re in disguise”.

Accompaniment is generally spookily sparse and quirkily inventive - previous single ‘Call America’ even features the sound of a windscreen wiper as metronomic rhythm section. Smith’s voice is not strong, but glides and hovers breathily over the restrained, even fragile, backdrop. At times you’ll hear sombre traditional double bass, while strangled feedback guitar colours ‘Calling For Love’ and ‘Strangelove’ - the former being the sole more energetic encounter with indie rock. Together with ‘Fall On Your Knees’ and ‘Dirty That Makes Me’, these are the strongest offerings. There is a consistency of brooding backdrop that gives strength to this album and binds it into one whole late night listen. Even those tracks where the quality of the song itself dips (’Girl Down’, ‘Super Fast Highway’), they still manage to sit within the spooky confessional world that Madam inhabits, and that’s enough to carry you through to the next track.

Often recently found in small venues around London, flitting between solo and band formats, Madam will be touring more widely in April. I’m not sure how this particular atmosphere might be maintained if she progresses to larger settings, or indeed, if Sukie Smith transforms herself into another character for any further musical adventures. Whether or not the real Sukie Smith ever stands up  I don’t really care; Madam’s world of dark desire and dreamy beauty is mysterious enough to sustain repeated listens at the moment.
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Links
Madam [myspace]