Fifth album from Britpop contenders.
A new album from The Bluetones takes me back to being fourteen in the post-Britpop malaise and going to see the band in the hope of recapturing the excitement of the Britpop explosion in 1995. Now on their fifth album, many things have changed, although I still feel an unhealthy amount of nostalgic for the Britpop era.
All of the above leads me to feel some trepidation about this album, wondering as I do whether it would have been more dignified for the band to bow out in the late '90s, leaving behind them a trail of slight but wonderfully likeable indie-pop gems.
Opener 'Surrendered' begins with an upbeat instrumental sequence which makes me think of Belle & Sebastian, and the familiar melodic vocals of Mark Morriss give this song a very sun kissed, summery tone, despite the defeat evident in the lyrics: "You suffocate me, you seize control, you tie me in a bow and swallow me up whole".
'Baby, Back Up' begins with a great bass line and rhythm which makes the opening of the song memorable. The chorus lacks the same distinctiveness but overall the song is quite appealing.
'Hope and Jump' is a rather bland ballad with clichéd lyrics about ghosts and a rhythm scheme which seems forced. 'Head on A Spike' sees the pace pick up with a very new wave, synth heavy style. This shows the band are trying to head in a new direction as despite the '80s style instruments this song sounds much more like a lot of contemporary bands than anything Britpop.
'The King Of Outer Space' is a standard Bluetones song, complete with a "ba ba ba ba" sequence. 'Thank You, Not Today' is another song highly reminiscent of songs from their back catalogue; this is a song so laidback it is lying on the beach wearing sunglasses.
Unfortunately the songs which follow see the album plummet downhill at an alarming rate. The supreme perkiness of 'My Neighbour's House' is irritating, and is followed by 'Fade In/Fade Out' and 'The Last Song But One'; both weak songs which leave no impression on the listener. Final track 'Wasn't I Right About You?' sees a slight improvement with another typical Bluetones song, but overall this album seems lacklustre more often than it seems inspired. There are some strong songs, but there are a higher proportion of songs which lack the spark they need to make them memorable.