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Rating: Matter of style: between glamour and intellectualism made of quotes and stuffy dissipation, moving through retro interiors where mid-century modern decor serves to cover the cracks on damp walls, while an old VHS of a '40s noir plays on TV and an aseptic row of beige houses can be glimpsed through the window. Matter of style for a five-member band (three girls, two guys) to call themselves The Long Blondes without any of the five being blonde. And above all, it's a matter of style for her, the leader, Kate Jackson, meticulously dressed as a '60s thirty-something in heels with blouse and neckerchief, sexy, experienced, cynical, and tremendously attention-grabbing (and talented). This alone is enough to understand that after the Arctic Monkeys, who could be easily mistaken in the middle of a semi-pimply and annoying class from a vocational school on a trip to London, the new English "next big thing" is the return to unmistakably British fashion-driven and vintage pop-rock, diametrically opposed to those raw arctic monkeys.
They come from Sheffield, like Pulp; they're produced by ex-Pulp Steve Mackey, even though they would have preferred Jarvis Cocker; they love (no kidding?) Pulp. They're very keen on the artwork of their records, all curated by Kate. They care a lot about non-trivial songwriting (thanks to Dorian Cox, guitarist), which winks at the educated thirty-something thanks to literary and cinematic references, without giving up on prosaic immersions in a grayed and smoky everyday life, with some scattered and clever adolescent references and many more middle-aged runaway reflections: and with this, they bring together Pulp, Black Box Recorder, Saint Etienne, Pet Shop Boys, Smiths.
Their full-length debut, which collects some previously released EP songs (and here adapted) and many new pieces, sounds like Pulp’s His'n'hers devoid of keyboards and declined in a more disco-rock interpretation, passing through Blondie and taking some cues from the more recent La Tigre and Raveonettes. The result is that indie-dance which Pulp tried to ride in the early nineties (see "Live On", only recently released) and which here seems to be reborn, well-updated and corrected, with cues taken from what came before and what came after.
They are straightforward songs, uncomplicated, making you tap your foot on the first listen and already lodged in your head by the second. The great care for melodies, well-thought-out and crafted choruses, scratchy guitar riffs between dub and neo-romantic nuances, and Kate's voice, eclectic and theatrical, wonderfully capable of interpreting the narrative perspective of the lyrics from always different and oblique angles, are the ingredients of the album. It ranges from the mature sound and fullness of "Weekend Without Makeup" to the more noir movements of "A Knife For The Girls", passing through more vibrant pieces like "Lust In The Movies" and "Only Lovers Left Alive", to the more straightforwardly pop ends of the record, namely "Once And Never Again" and "Swallow Tattoo", short, catchy, and danceable sixties-style tweepop gems. "Giddy Stratospheres", with a formidable blend of words and music, with a foundation given by prominent bass, claps, and a sharp guitar, stands out: it reeks of sweat in an eighties club, rolls between well-furnished attics and dark underbellies, and in the living room, halfway, it really sounds great. There's also time for interpretations that, thanks also to Kate's voice, kidnap Garbage and take them to visit the Smiths ("In The Company Of Women"), for almost melodramatic lightness ("Heaven Help The New Girl") and for faster outbursts ("Separated By Motorways"), but always pop to the core.
The settings are provincial, creating slightly lazy atmospheres, marred by routine, between a Hopper painting and the streets of Saturday nights or a mid-week morning. Apartments above pet shops, supermarkets, pubs where glances are exchanged through smoke and the frosted glass of a pint, bourgeois houses where loneliness and exhausting rituals are unraveled form the backdrop for stories of couples, difficult relationships, bored girls. They reference films and at times seem to project them, these five blond-non-blondes, so that each track corresponds to a mood, a film, a different sensitivity; all while maintaining a solid underlying homogeneity.
Having said all this, with the usual words squandered, I will be straightforward and cautiously (but not too much) doubtful: in extremis, one of the albums of the year (?).
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Lust in the Movies (03:06)
A svelte young man, eighteen lovers to his name.
Well if the rumours are true then eighteen lovers came crawling back again.
I don't feel well.
I've got this rattling in my chest.
My doctor said that I should give it up because I'm clinically obsessed.
I know you think you're in the movies.
You're in the movies that don't wanna know me.
Well I know all about fear and desire, I know all about lust et cetera.
Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karenina, Arlene Dahl.
Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karenina, Arlene Dahl.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
A sweet young girl, dressed to the nines in Cacharel.
Oh, under the weather my heels click together, and following her is hell.
I feel quite ill.
I've got this rattling in my chest.
My doctor said that I should give it up, I need to get some rest.
Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karenina, Arlene Dahl.
Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karenina, Arlene Dahl.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
So never, never, never try to tell me it's a pleasure being alone.
All I have here with me are the records and the books that I own.
Nag, nag, nag.
Nag, nag, nag.
Nag, nag, nag.
Nag, nag, nag.
Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karenina, Arlene Dahl.
Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karenina, Arlene Dahl.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
I just want to be a sweetheart.
I just want to be a sweetheart
02 Once and Never Again (02:59)
19. you're only 19 for God's sake,
Oh, you don't need a boyfriend.
19. you're only 19 for God's sake,
Oh, you don't need a boyfriend.
Look what he's made you do to your arm again,
He said he'd come round but he's gone out with his friends,
And I know how it feels to be your age
and feel the world is caving in.
Another drama by the kitchen sink tonight,
You said you'd cut yourself whilst washing up the knives,
Another week off school won't do you any good,
And I know how it feels to be your age.
19. you're only 19 for God's sake,
Oh, you don't need a boyfriend.
19. you're only 19 for God's sake,
Oh, you don't need a boyfriend.
Come back with me, and find out what you really want,
Come home with me you'll only have to do it once,
'cause I know what it feels like to be your age,
You only have to do it once,
And never again.
Another drama by the kitchen sink tonight,
You said you'd cut yourself whilst washing up the knives,
Another week off school won't do you any good,
And I know how it feels to be your age.
You know I'm not so young,
I spend an hour getting ready every day,
And still I end up looking more or less the same,
But I could show you,
a thing or two.
Oh, I could show you the ropes,
Yes I could show you the ropes,
And I would cut my hair for you,
'Cause I know how it feels.
I know how it feels to be your age,
I know how it feels to be your age,
Oh, how I'd love to feel a girl your age,
Your age,
Once and never again
03 Only Lovers Left Alive (03:59)
I wouldn't bother to look if I was sure that you were happy together
But I've seen the way she covers her chest up as if it was a national treasure
Looks are the first weapon
Charm is the second
I reckon that she doesn't have much of either
You don't need her
It's better that you come and see about me.
No, I won't get bored and I won't get tired
I've already spent years at the back of the line
So another six months won't make a difference to me now
Soon enough we'll be the
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
All the men came back from six years' fighting
To the beige row of houses and the prospect of spending
Their Saturday nights in
From here to eternity
And it wasn't that summer their wives didn't love them
They had the run of the house
And with nothing to do on a night
One thing led to something else.
No, I won't get bored and I won't get tired
I've already spent years at the back of the line
So another six months won't make a difference to me now
Soon enough we'll be the
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
Behind your back in the supermarket
She's got his number and she's not afraid to use it
I want to know, exactly what you, exactly what you intend to do about it
Because you can't keep your eye on her all the time
And you can't trust a word that she says any more
Can't trust a word that she says any more
Can't trust a word that she says any more
No, I won't get bored and I won't get tired
I've already spent years at the back of the line
So another six months won't make a difference to me now
Don't tell me what price salvation
I have to take it anyway
Can I get it on credit or something?
Godspeed the day, godspeed the day when we're the
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
Only lovers, only lovers left alive
Left alive
Left alive
04 Giddy Stratospheres (05:08)
(Verse One)
You're pretty, oh so pretty
Why waste your time just sitting
Here listening to that dead-eye bitch?
Do nothing, eat your chocolate
Drink your wine, she won't let you
Make your way across her empire line!
(Bridge)
What's eating you is a mystery
But go home with her one more time
And you know you'll be history
(Verse Two)
Watch movies with the lights on
Sit still, keep her tights on
Did you see this one the same time week?
Go on, say something clever
Just act so she will never
Take you higher than her attic room
(Bridge)
What's eating you is a mystery
But go home with her one more time
And you know you'll be history
(Chorus)
She'll never take you to giddy stratospheres
I'll comfort your fears
She'll never take you to giddy stratospheres
I'll comfort your fears
(Is she a femme fatale?)
That's what she wants you to think
(She'll never lead him astray)
But it's the best she can do
(But is she going away?)
No, she'll always be here,
Waiting for you
Back here on earth
(Verse Two)
Your mother, call your mother
Even she's surprised that this is
How you want to spend your nights indoors
You never call too often
What's up? Have you forgotten
What it's like to have her on all fours?
(Bridge)
What's eating you is a mystery
But go home with her one more time
And you know you'll be history
(Chorus)
She'll never take you to giddy stratospheres
I'll comfort your fears
She'll never take you to giddy stratospheres
I'll comfort your fears
(Is she a femme fatale?)
That's what she wants you to think
(She'll never lead him astray)
But it's the best she can do
(But is she going away?)
No, she'll always be here,
Waiting for you
Back here on earth
(Middle-Eight)
There's a train at
The station
It's leaving
This morning
It'll take you
Away from
This girl that's
So boring
Don't turn around, just walk away
Don't turn around, just walk away
Don't turn around, JUST WALK AWAY
(Chorus)
She'll never take you to giddy stratospheres
I'll comfort your fears
She'll never take you to giddy stratospheres
I'll comfort your fears
(Is she a femme fatale?)
That's what she wants you to think
(She'll never lead him astray)
But it's the best she can do
(But is she going away?)
No, she'll always be here,
Waiting for you
Back here on earth
06 Heaven Help the New Girl (03:54)
No more nights in the flat
In the flat above the pet shop
Hiding every picture of your boyfriend
He never has to go behind my back again
Because I don’t speak to him now
No more fights in the car,
In the back of his car
A car that never started and the rows they never stopped
He never has to go behind my back again
Because I don’t speak to him now
I say
Heaven help the new girl
If she has to go through what I went through too
Don’t get me wrong
If you want someone
Who's gonna lead you on
He's the one for you
Don’t get me wrong
If you want someone
Who's gonna treat you bad
He's the man
But who wants that anyway
Oh
Heaven help the new girl
If she has to go through what I went through too
Heaven help the new girl
If she has to go through what I went through too
So go
Just go
Because you'll be never 19 again
And I thought I told you before
You don’t need a boyfriend
So go
Just walk
It doesn’t matter if its raining or dark
And if by some strange stroke of luck
I pick you up
then we can drive to the country
Left to ourselves
And both say
Heaven help the new girl
If she has to go through what I went through too
07 Separated by Motorways (02:20)
In the pub where we learnt how to talk about bands
You stand all dressed up with your vodka in hand
Oh girl, you’re waiting for a pitiful man
In the pub, at the bar with the old men I am
Alone with a pint of bitter in my hand
For a girl this is not an acceptable plan
Wipe your eyes darling, it’s OK
Meet me on the dual carriage way
Separated by motorways
The A14 and the A1
Separated by motorways
Two lonely girls go on the run
I heard from the boys you were down on your knees last night
They were worried you were looking a sight
Oh girl you’re too wonderful
At work locked away in the north
I can’t escape from the people and the records I hate
No wonder I’m always 15 minutes late
Wipe your eyes darling, it’s OK
Meet me on the dual carriage way
Separated by motorways
The A14 and the A1
Separated by motorways
Two lonely girls go on the run
Separated by motorways
The A14 and the A1
Separated by motorways
Two lonely girls go on the run
Two lonely girls go on the run
Two lonely girls go on the run
09 Swallow Tattoo (02:31)
Give me a good film noir and a bottle of gin
I'll be happy just to stay inside,
I didn't want to get too involved
But I like how hard you tried.
To my horror,
A former lover told me you've always had a swallow tattoo
Now you tell me it's a sign of devotion
But devotion to who?
Don't think I'm a martyr to the cause
She's got her reasons putting cats amongst the pigeons
But I'd rather just stay indoors.
An antique emblem set in ink
It didn't mean a thing to you,
Now I've been wronged by proxy
Goodbye, happiness, I hardly knew ya.
To my horror,
A former lover told me you've always had a swallow tattoo
Now you tell me it's a sign of devotion
But devotion to who?
You fill me, you fill me
You fill me with inertia
You fill me with inertia
I still want, I still want to jump
I want to jump your bones.
Don't tell her, tell her anything
Because I'm bound to see her later today
And if she can't keep a straight face
Then I'll know.
To my horror,
A former lover told me you've always had a swallow tattoo
Now you tell me it's a sign of devotion
But devotion to who?
I'd rather just stay indoors.
10 Weekend Without Makeup (04:11)
Another weekend without makeup
Another evening to myself
Well, I guess that I won't be having the time of my life tonight
Where do you go when you've finished work?
You should have been home an hour ago
I've got your tea laid out like some kind of fifties housewife
Well I'll feed you
But I need you
To make a little more effort
I don't like giving you the third degree
I just want what's due, what's due to me...
There are wants and there are needs
And they're two very different things
You can love or be in love, again
They're two very different things
Yes, they're two very different things
I want to talk but you're much too tired
You've got a job but if you don't get fired soon
I'll be extremely surprised
Where do you go when you've finished work?
You should have been home an hour ago
You've left me fashioning a double bed
And acting like some kind of fifties housewife
There are wants and there are needs
And they're two very different things
You can love or be in love, again
They're two very different things
Yes, they're two very different things
I could be more than your land lady if you like
But you don't like
And neither do I!
There are wants and there are needs
And they're two very different things
You can love or be in love, again
They're two very different things
Yes, they're two very different things
You and I, we're different
You and I, we're two very different things
But still I've got you, I've got you under my skin
But still I've got you, I've got you under my skin
11 Madame Ray (03:31)
Give me a polaroid picture to fit in my pocket
And I'll paste it into my heart shaped locket
Eventually I’ll cheat on every man I meet
I know I can't help it
Buy me a drink and I will tell you my name
I’m a rose petal fallen from a mainline train
Always there to touch but just out of reach
I know you can’t help it
Eye on metronome, watching the way you write her name
An object of destruction made for Madame Ray
Left New York but drew your outline
On a ticket back to London
Whitewashed all my boyfriend's features
Solarising future pictures
I'm an ideal portrait of a girl,I’ll be your apprentice
But you can't keep me captive on your wall, I’m still in my twenties
Lie behind a camera past the city music hall,
Madame Ray will sit me high above you all
Left New York but drew my outline
On a record sleeve in brooklyn
Whitewashed three years of existence
Solarising future pictures
Man let go, he couldn’t keep her
Locks of hair on artist’s easels
Traces of unseen love rivals
Solarising into pictures
I am forever being put away
And I am always in reserve
I am forever being put away
And I am always in reserve
''"With an eye always in reserve
Material indestructible
Forever being put away
Taken for a ride
Put on the spot
The racket must go on
I am always in reserve"''
I am forever being put away
And I am always in reserve
I am forever being put away
And I am always in reserve
I am forever being put away
And I am always in reserve
I am forever being put away
And I am always in reserve
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