Patience Pays Off
A lot can change in a few years. Back in 2005 Liverpool’s The Aeroplanes were being touted by everyone and their grannies as being the next big band to break out of the UK. Their debut EP was breaking records on iTunes for downloads by an unsigned band, they were selling out the Liverpool Academy and they had earned themselves a stint at the legendary SXSW festival in Texas. The world was their oyster and with baited breath, their album was anticipated with eager ears. And then they just seemed to vanish; a modern musical mystery as the Liverpool quartet not so much dropped under the radar but more fell completely off it. That was until now. Sure, it may be a few years later but finally The Aeroplanes are back, albeit with a few subtle changes. It appears the last few years have been a tad turbulent in The Aeroplanes’ camp; one key member has been staying at Her Majesty pleasure repaying a debt to society whilst the band have drafted in a new bass player, Vicky Edwards, transforming the all boys together brigade into a mixed gender clan that are as tight as ever and finally have that all important album for us to get our grubby mitts on. Luckily patience this time has paid off.
Borrowing from their earlier EP and smuggling in a few of their previous single releases, ‘Broken Hearts And Maladies’ is an almost abridged greatest hits of The Aeroplanes to date with some new offerings sprinkled in to tantalise and tease. The heartfelt is mixed nicely amongst the full out lad-rock that swaggers confidently with a brashness that appeals from the jangle start of opener ‘Black Hole’ in all its harmonic wonder right through to the stomping crunch of ‘Don’t Stop Me’ as it punches vigorously, heading quickly into anthemic territory. And then there are the tender moments. ‘Slipping Away’ is an upbeat slice of The La’s crossing paths with The Zutons, all melodic mastery with a blasting chorus to wrap your vocal chords around, whilst ‘This Is My Love’ reigns things in to reveal a swirl of emotion sparkling around a maze of rock fused beats that have more than a slight nod towards The Verve. Then as if to ensure every base is completely covered, The Aeroplanes decide to round things off with epic style. Starting out life resembling an ode to a down beaten life, ‘Rain At Your Door’ traipses with a melancholy meandering that oozes heartache and despair until the four piece break out of their misery, unleashing a stampede of experimental guitars that jam together frantically, all competing for attention in the best possible way and bringing the band’s long awaited album to a captivatingly exhausting conclusion.
It may have been a struggle getting here and it might have taken longer than they originally hoped, but ‘Broken Hearts And Maladies’ is the album that the Liverpuddlians always promised to deliver. Appealing across the ages, ‘Broken Hearts And Maladies’ is a nugget of timeless British indie rock, unapologetically melodic and bursting with a quintessentially Liverpool sound that will charm all from the terrace stands right back to your own front door.