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Rating: Surely, if there wasn't someone we know, certain records would go unnoticed... jokes aside, the second album by British Sea Power is undoubtedly proving to be one of the most appreciated confirmations of this music season, at least as far as the indie scene is concerned, and it deserves a few words… I would even say it's one of the best albums of the year.
We had left Yan and his brother Hamilton's troop in full guerrilla, amidst the frantic and dizzy accelerations of their early, magnificent singles from 2002 ("Apologies To Insect Life," for example) and the power pop assaults of their surreal new wave anthems ("Remember Me" and the poignant "Carrion") in what turned out to be one of the most convincing debuts of recent years.
Now we find British Sea Power, having emerged from those uncontrolled outbursts with wounds and scars: the battle has been won, but at what cost.
The hunting season is open, but the impression is no longer that of a mad and imperious army, rather of war patients struck not mortally but certainly marked, who meditate in the field hospital and think of returning home... the obvious consequence is that this "Open Season" is a much gentler and softer work compared to their debut two years ago, but it was almost inevitable.
The evoked reference to the English countryside and that somewhat romantic imagery tied to it (which would have made William Wordsworth happy) is evident from the opening "It Ended On An Oily Stage," the first single released, with its epic and melancholic stride.
We then have the homage (starting from the exquisite production) to Echo & The Bunnymen (a reference band for this album) with "Be Gone," where once again Yan enthusiastically delivers fatalistic lines, then leaves space for his brother in the sublime "How Will I Ever Find My Way Home," which in its swinging vocal inflection suspended between sweetness and madness represents the only true bridge to the past: a captivating track constantly teetering between composure à la XTC and fully exposed nerves improvisation (the final 40 seconds are a genuine sonic trauma), I highlight the lyrics, beautiful.
The atmospheres turn languid and melancholic again for most of the album, with "Like A Honeycomb," where Yan reveals his evident passion for Morrissey, and "The Land Beyond," wrapped in the psychedelic folk suggestions of the best Belle & Sebastian.
British Sea Power in this musing among the leaves and trees of English forests find their peak emotional achievement with the beautiful and captivating "Please Stand Up," introduced by an irresistible guitar riff and a chorus that, if possible, further perfects the already memorable one from "Carrion," among skies that continuously change shades and tones and birds that chirp happily and indifferently.
Beautiful sensations.
Judging the album, one shouldn't fall into the trap of comparing it to the past and the noise pop fury of the first EPs: in this case, the path of British Sea Power appears absolutely coherent, perhaps a bit premature, but that's not the point. A band that manages to evoke Joy Division ("Oh Larsen B") without mimicking them, these days, has talent that still presents huge margins for improvement: we just need to understand what truly interests these war heroes... fame, glory, money?
As long as they continue to sing about Victorian ice skating or use that enigmatic and fascinating high language that has made them truly a unique case in the British scene, the answer is obvious.
British Sea Power is a "real" band that lives real adventures, and for now, this handful of high-intensity songs is enough to prepare us for the summer that is ending and another autumn that is about to be born.
Dismissed.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Like a Honeycomb (04:32)
Mother
Maiden aunt or brother
On the masonary, and there are others
Like you, beheaded lover
In the cemetery
Seems rather sad to me
Oh seems rather sad to me
Oh amour centenary
Available for all to see
But in between the morning and the evening light
Is how the days go by
And in between the evening and the morning light
Oh don't the stars look nice
But in between the evening and the morning light
Is how the days go by
And in between the evening and the morning light
Oh don't the stars look nice
At first the settings broke
Now the machinery stops
And the country's all sectioned off
Like a honeycomb
Oh cells and foam
Like separated bones
Have you been waiting for long?
Oh in between the morning and the evening light
Is how the days go by
And in between the evening and the morning light
Oh don't the stars look nice
In between the evening and the morning light
Is how the days go by
And in between the evening and the morning light
Oh don't the stars look nice
And oh, oh oh
Oh ain't it going well?
And oh, oh oh
But it's so hard to tell
It's like everything you never said
But always meant to say
It's like everything you never did
And did it anyway
But in between the morning and the evening light
It's how the days go by
In between the evening and the morning light
Oh don't the stars look nice
05 Please Stand Up (02:59)
Oh take me somewhere quiet please
These motorway exit gates
Are calling to me dearly
And I need a place to go
And even numbers on a timetable
Arrivals and departures and
Those places' names
Never seemed so strange before
If there's anyone asking, did you get a rush?
There's no point in asking if it wasn't enough
There's nobody else here, so please stand up
If there's anyone asking, did you get a rush?
There's no point in asking, it wasn't enough
There's nobody else here, so please stand up
The occultation of a summer sun
Was burning holes in everyone
Defenceless, what was left inside could finally escape
It seemed as if the streets had melted
It seemed as if the air was scented
I wish all of time could be like this
If there's anyone asking, did you get a rush?
There's no point in asking, it wasn't enough
There's nobody else here, so please stand up
Oh oh, oh my love
If there's anyone asking, did you get a rush?
There's no point in asking, it wasn't enough
There's nobody else here, so please stand up
And then all of the sudden it's all better better
A little excitement makes us wetter wetter
Oh my love
Again, again, again, again my love
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