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Unmuttoned

Nick Bollinger - Listener

As an occasional songwriter, Alan Gregg gave the Mutton Birds their sweet, soft centre with whimsical singalongs such as "Come Around" and "Wellington". The name Marshmallow, which Gregg has coined as an all-purpose identity for himself and his album, seems spot-on. But it also hides something far more substantial and tasty. This is an album the revels in its smallness. Think of Pacifier; now try to imagine the opposite. Lots of acoustic guitars and gently jangling electrics underpin Gregg's lovely, light melodic voice, which is often woven into harmony, sometimes with stellar guests such as Bic Runga and Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith.

Gregg writes great pop songs, loosely fashioned on the British model. Picture Ray Davies, daydreaming in provincial New Zealand rather than suburban London. "I know you think I'm handsome/and of course I think you're pretty" goes a couplet that typifies Gregg's quaintly old-world romanticism. He doesn't shy from old-fashioned rhyme, either; his delight is audible in "Scooter Girl", where he gets to match "forget her" with "Lambretta" and "cuter" with "commuter". Cole Porter would have approved.

So light and spongy is Marshmallow on the surface that Gregg is able to slip in, almost undetected, the hard satire of "The Ballad of Wendi Deng" in which he mocks Rupert Murdoch and his "trophy wife". (Prize line: "He wouldn't trade her for all the TV in China")