ALBUM REVIEW: The Long Blondes
- Posted on March 28, 2008 4:48 PM
- 0 comments
The Long Blondes
'Couples' out 7th April.
Review by Chris Todd
Sheffield band The Long Blondes have always been an interesting proposition but their style has outshone the music. Their 2006 debut, 'Someone to drive you home', had the correct boxes ticked but due to ex Pulp member Steve Mackeys' production, it was a lame offering with only occasional hints of brilliance.
It is the golden touch of electro/indie dj and producer Erol Alkan who has taken this potential and together with the band, produced an album which is instantly up there as one of the best albums from these shores this decade, which let's face it, wouldn't be difficult. 22.20's, Gorillaz and Artic Monkeys (1st album only) aside, we have been totally eclipsed by our Atlantic cousins this decade.
Opening with the single 'Century', the difference in style is immediate, the sexy swagger is prominent in Kate Jackson's Debbie Harry-esque vocal sighs and there are inspired techno stylings from Alkan aplenty, from this majestic opening, the album gets better and better.
The boisterous 'Here Comes the Serious Bit' is the return of angry vagina music, rrriot grrrls in make-up are just as deadly as those who aren't. 'Guilt's shimmering pop has a genius steal of the spoken word intro to one of Pet Shop Boy's finest, 'love comes quickly' and closer 'I'm going to hell' ends in a storming crescendo or repeat riffing and an almost techno style breakdown.
What is even more satisfying though are the more experimental moments, it's on these where producer pushes the band as far as possible and the band respond with breathtaking results with sounds you never thought they'd be capable of. For many fans, the change in sound could be too much for what in essence is an indie pop band but those who will 'get it' will reap the benefits listen after listen after listen.
'Round The Hairpin' is an astounding six minutes of seething electronica, scathing guitars and distorted basslines reminiscent of Curve or early Eurythmics at their eerie best. 'Too Clever By Half' raises the stakes even higher with Jackson providing a brilliantly searing falsetto which when you hear it crack only makes it more exceptional, the minimal funk backing is reminiscent of 'Parade' era Prince or even more bizarrely, something from the second Portishead album, all this masking quite sinister lyrics about how Kate Jackson goes round to one of her girlfriend's houses to sleep with their boyfriend, repeating the line "I went round to his house and I don't have to tell you what we did next" to ensure you DO know what they did next. The ultimate showstopper though is the heartbreaking 'Nostalgia', with a totally electronic backing Kate muses about "I may never have a daughter, as I've got too much to tell her, I've got too much to answer for", astounding.
The cliché of difficult second album syndrome is something which hasn't even crossed The Long Blondes' minds, they pull it off with effortless grace and on this form, there's no-one out there who can touch them.
An absolute contender for album of the year, already.
Related links:
The Long Blondes concert tickets.
The Long Blondes' official site.
Post a comment
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.seatwaveblogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2801
