While The Wedding Present is on indefinite hold, its founder and leader, David Gedge, has joined forces with its tour manager, Sally Murrell, who also happens to be Gedge’s girlfriend, to form Cinerama. The result is an homage to classic pop with self-proclaimed influences ranging from Burt Bacharach to Phil Spector and Ennio Morricone to Isaac Hayes. Gedge, whose penchant for creating sublime pop nuggets, layers each track with very subtle touches of organs and strings as well as flutes and trumpets. The songs all have a retro feel. Gedge’s voice is so distincvtive that it’s hard to disassociate this from a Wedding Present album, but he’s actually trying to sing more with his real voice as opposed to the affected growl he uses in his other band. Plus, these songs are so pristine and upbeat- too straightforward to be Wedding Present material.

Gedge’s lyrics have always been honest and forthright with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor, but in the past he was the wallowing victim, the butt of all the jokes. On Va Va Voom, Gedge seems happy to be the jilted lover. The songs are invariably about love. The only difference is that it occasionally works out for him. Gedge still pines now and again as on “Maniac” and “Hate”, but he’s just so happy about it.

Va Va Voom packs a light-hearted, melodic punch. The dynamics of The Wedding Present are nowhere to be found. This is as simple as it gets, and that’s the point. Cinerama will surely tide die-hard fans over until the next Wedding Present record, and for those who might be put off by the latter band’s abrasiveness this is a pleasant if slightly sugar-coated introduction into the world of David Gedge.