When Britpop was sweeping the nation all those years ago, somehow Babybird found themselves tangled up in the furore. This was mainly due to the surprise hit of You're Gorgeous, a song that stuck a chord with the general public, but essentially did little to highlight the enormous strength of Stephen Jones' songwriting.
Those in the know were huddled in their rooms with their copies of his lo-fi albums and contented themselves singing along to the likes of Bad Shave or the original version of Cornershop. The inventiveness, quirky nature, and sheer quality of Stephen Jones' songs meant that Babybird just didn't belong on compilation albums alongside the likes of Oasis, Shed 7, and Dodgy.
Too Much is the opening track from Babybird's latest (and possibly greatest) album Between My Ears There's Nothing But Music. It's a dark and brooding ballad which heads straight for the heart instead of attacking the jugular. Jones' voice is settled into croon mood for the verse, but as the song progresses he pushes himself to the limit, producing one of his most stunning performances to date. Add to this the lyrics which concern themselves with the loss of innocence and the confusion of a continually accelerated pace of life pull an emotional response not just from Jones, but from the listener too.
Too Much is the reason Babybird should never have been lumped in with the turgid lumpen bands of the Britpop era. Now, with that particular scene dead and buried, and beautiful songs like these, hopefully Babybird can at last spread their wings and fly.
