A bit of all white
It's a rare sight indeed to see a band seven studio albums (if you include their soundtrack to 'Storytelling') into their career still churning out pop gold. This is the third single to be taken from the band's excellent 'The Life Pursuit' album and it's arguably the best one yet.
It's a good ol' fashioned glam romp that brings to mind prime Mott The Hoople or T-Rex if they'd been interested in kitchen sink vignettes as opposed to sci-fi daydreams. The obligatory accompanying tracks aren't quite as spectacular as the 'A' side but are nonetheless good value for money.
The Sarah Martin led 'Heaven In The Afternoon' reconnects the band to their stripped back, twee-er origins and 'Long Black Scarf' is a superior but woozy piano ballad. However the quality dips slightly on 'Baby Jane' a cover of Rod Stewart's 1983 number one single. Stuart Murdoch's voice is too thin and reedy for the clever Dexys-ish arrangement conjured up by his cohorts and consequently lacks the bite of the soulful original.
The band should still be commended though for their excellent taste in covers. Only the churlish old school fan of the band could deny the inherent quality of this single, further proof if need be of a band still on the up.