After the critical acclaim which met Fink’s two singles, “Pretty Little Thing” and “So Long,” it was time for the full length, “Biscuits For Breakfast”. Completely recorded at his 7Dials studio in Brighton and already drawing comparisons to the mighty John Martyn, “Biscuits For Breakfast” is a highly personal, beautifully executed journey into folk, blues, soul and dub overtones that sees the former trip hop beatsman reinvent himself in a way that’s more akin to a religious conversion than normal record company “change of haircut” practice.
From the very opening of the record, “Pretty Little Thing,” Fink shows that his lyrical pre-occupations are very much his own. While he touches on themes which are in themselves familiar – love, sex, loss, bad jobs, the ephemera of everyday life – he treats them with such an attention to detail and to his own genuine feelings that they fly. “Pills In My Pocket” tells of an abortive attempt at a date while at the Glastonbury Festival. “You Gotta Choose” details an impasse in a relationship. Next comes Fink’s majestic reinterpretation of Alison Moyet’s “All Cried Out”, before he is joined by Tina Grace for a fantastic duet on the aptly-named “Hush Now”. Title track “Biscuits” recounts the tale of Fink’s days as a tea boy, while “Kamlyn” perhaps provides the emotional centre of the record, a moving tale of messing up the best thing in your life.
Beautifully produced, achingly soulful, “Biscuits For Breakfast” is an album that will stand the test of time, because at root it’s built on original, honest song-writing.
