... if Brian Wilson brought out an album tomorrow with songs on it as good as this album's "Cherry Sky" or "Banana Sandwich", it would be heralded as a triumphant return to form. Scott really is that good

The Sunday Times 12 August 2002

Pearlfishers
"The Strange Underworld Of The Tall Poppies" ( reissue )
(Marina MA 25)

Pearlfishers "Across The Milky Way" (Marina, 2001) - SLIPCUE
The Pearlfishers are frequently billed as a one-man band, which is slightly true but not quite accurate... Scottish popster David Scott certainly does most of the heavy lifting -- writing songs, recording at home, dreaming. But he's also not above asking a few friends in to help out, so when he envisions a Beach Boy/Bacharach orchestral sweep, there are plenty of folks around to pitch in with a woodwind here, a viola there. Scott has an infectiously naifish pop vision, similar to his pals in BMX Bandits and Teen Fan Club, which stands in contrast to the cynical pretensions of the time; a resolute and unhurried "what? me worry?" faith in the power of sugary pop songs and Paul Simon-y introspection. This time around, though, he's pushing the envelope ever so slightly by an insistance on inspirational lyrics that stretches throughout the the length of the album... After a while you may weary of winsome advice on how best to see the bright side of life, yet the pretty packaging makes it hard to take offense. This is calm, pretty indiepop, which unabashedly tries to make the world sound like a swell place to live.