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Rating: There are bands that profoundly mark a moment, a historical period, capturing through their songs the "face" of a generation, and then they disappear into nothingness, swallowed by the inevitable cliché of the "trademark," becoming irreversibly imitators of themselves. There are others instead who build their careers in small steps, patiently waiting for the harvest of their artistic maturity, indifferent to the rush and pressure of the music industry and the fashionable compromises dictated by the media and trends. This is the case of Gene, a band that has accumulated in 10 years an interesting "cult" following, but that has never really broken through even within its own context, almost as if wanting to maintain that shy and intimate attitude that paradoxically has long safeguarded their basic identity. When "Olympian" was released in February 1995, the British press did not hesitate to call it a purely "derivative" album (in this case, similar to the Oasis/Beatles comparison, the model of reference was identified in the Smiths) and to frame it in the then nascent Britpop movement. While admitting that these judgments are not absolutely misleading, I equally find that Martin Rossiter's Gene is still one of the most unjustly underrated and snubbed bands in the recent past of English pop rock. This debut album would fully justify my statement, starting from the beautiful cover (as indeed all those of this band), a darkened and painted frame, I think "in ink," that reminds me of a beautiful music video by the aforementioned Smiths, precisely that of "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out." The comparisons with the historic band from Manchester do not end here, but I find this is only a starting point to understand that "Olympian" is the natural chapter that follows the breakup of Morrissey & Co.
It is, by necessity, a particularly "English," nocturnal, and melancholic album that evokes atmospheres of other times. Rossiter's lyrics tackle themes such as the obsessive dependency on love and alcohol, approached with the fatalism of an Ian Curtis yet at the same time emanating that subtle beam of light that allows the listener to breathe, and hope. It's so that the effect each track provokes in the listener is similar to that of an antidepressant, a sort of massage now soft and alluring, now vigorous and assertive: the anthem "Haunted By You," which plays on a good melody beautifully rendered by the contrast of organ/jingle jangle guitars/Rossiter's voice, certainly belongs to this latter "category." But then the sounds are covered in velvet, the lights dim, and one is entranced by the obsession of "Your Love, It Lies," the chanting sweetness of "Truth, Rest Your Head" interrupted by the emphatic and dramatic refrain, the engaging nostalgia of "Car That Sped." You reach this point of the album, and you light your first cigarette: the rest is taken care of by the dirty and restless rock of "Left Handed," the poignant grace of "London, Can You Wait?," the tense "To The City" (the track most reminiscent of the Smiths), the "nervous quiet" of "Still Can't Find The Phone," the comfort of "Sleep Well Tonight."
The subdued and reassuring piano of the title-track guides us to the final farewells, with the concluding song leaving us with the, perhaps naive, hope that "We'll Find Our Own Way": Steve Mason's guitar and Martin Rossiter's voice embrace you one last time, and you feel better, much better. Whether Gene has truly found their path is a question I cannot answer: perhaps this was the journey they wanted to undertake from the beginning. I only know that when I remove this CD from the player, I can truly fall asleep serene and confident for Our Life. Goodnight.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
05 Left-Handed (02:20)
I have one single success to my name
So take cover, I am coming out today
There is no turn of phrase, no easy way to say
"I'll find my feet
I'll choose my own name."
It's hard to be left-handed
But smile you're not the only one
I know you've been left stranded
Bruised, kicked
Lost your mother's love
But take it from me
I will be here tomorrow
Evil,
I've seen your face and I know just how you feel
Your Victorian descendant
It's illegal, that my clan just aren't seen as people
On the Isle of Man
I'll serve my time.
09 Sleep Well Tonight (04:36)
It's the end of the year
I have just settled here
It may not be much, but it's enough
yet trouble has sprung from the pubs and the clubs
We'll see blood soon, when the night's through.
Stillyou can have it all, there's a hole in the wall
Get some money and we'll show them
This is our territory, this patch belongs to me
Why don't they understand, but I've got a plan
So take my hand.
And sleep well tonight,
Tomorrow we fight, would you like it in town?
As the bass drums boom by
We'll leave this lay-by, this excuse for a town.
Now that everybody knows all about me
I've been rumbled, I've been sold
Born with plenty but you're left empty.
You can have it all, there's a hole in the wall
Get some dough out and we'll show out
But still trouble comes from these pubs
and these clubs
Why can't they understand, but I've got a plan
So take my hand
And sleep well tonight.
10 Olympian (05:25)
Give me something I can hold
With that something I will grow
Make me crazy with your arms
It's all gone hazy, it's all gone wrong
Olympian, framed by God
So bring me water to cool off.
Formidable and not afraid
Of the next world, just delayed.
How can you decline such grand designs?
I'm flattered that you thought
I make a good reward, but
How can you survive my blatant lies?
I'm flattered that you thought
So come taste my good reward.
I wanted to be there with you
For I can only be normal with you
I'm taking your life for you
12 For the Dead (03:25)
With every wind
I hear you sing
"You will be fine"
With every note
Stuck in your throat
"This is your time", but
Everyone is just walking away from me
Am I really that nasty
All the dust and dirt affects my skin
Everyone is just turning away from me
Am I really that filthy
it's cold and dark, let me in
I'm in love with this land of plenty
Full of folks that still are friendly
I've lost my will, still I see some hope
Give me a rope, I'll take it gladly
Find me a tree, make it sturdy
Bye ma! it's my time to go
Yes this one's for the dead
13 Be My Light, Be My Guide (04:03)
I've been waiting a long time
So take me home driver
Make me more wise
And tell me more about drinking
It's evil ways and then
I will be your friend
So please be my guide
Be my light, can you really help me now
I'm lost and there's no way out
When I was young oh my ma
She used to laugh at me and cry
"You'll be lonely when you die,
Couldn't change it if you tried"
I've been home for so long now
So take me back will you
To the thrills of town
And tell me more about women
Yes, I had two last night
So can I be your friend now?
I've been waiting a long time
I've been waiting a long time now
Tonight, let it be my night
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