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Rating: Shall we be completely honest? The Lucksmiths will not tear your heart out, they won't leave you in a pool of tears as you repeat to yourself that you're worthless, they won't give you sleepless nights, nor will they soothe any of your bad moods, nothing of the sort. The realm in which their notes move is that of a storm that has already passed, of which only a faded memory remains.
They place themselves at a point where everything is now so clear that there's nothing left to do but evoke past moments, small yet important, now transfigured into experience that has made us stronger and perhaps less naive, less... pure.
Epigones of Belle & Sebastian, with a pinch of Smiths, they are a trio from Australia that essentially makes a very simple and enjoyable indie-pop-folk. In a word, I would describe the record as "discreet," in the purest sense of the term (as my dictionary states: "Moderate, behaving with a sense of opportunity and discretion").
Let's be clear, it is by no means a masterpiece, because they remain too derivative, but the listening is satisfying. The lyrics are minimalist and talk about just-ended or tentative loves, "epiphanies," and revelations, never lapsing into intellectualism.
The dances open with "A Hiccup In Your Happiness", which in its 2 minutes and a bit immediately sets things straight: it starts very delicately and is enriched after a while with horns and violins to highlight the choruses that go uptempo.
Rough guitar intro for "The Music Next Door", which in the bridge strongly recalls the vocal harmonies of Belle & Sebastian (beautiful closing chorus based on "pa-pa pa-pa-pà" overlaid with horns). It is followed by the acoustic but not too much ballad "Great Lengths", with dreamy electric guitar notes.
The organ and the upbeat drums of "Now I'm Even Further Away" are beautiful, one of the most captivating tracks on the record. The slow "If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now" drips with cosmic melancholy, which strongly recalls The Smiths and Morrissey at their best: arm yourself with a damsel to dance at sunset, please!
A must-mention for "I Don't Want To Walk Around No More", so nocturnal and delicate: you won't resist the whistled melody halfway through the piece. The album closes with the folk of "Fiction", which reminds me a lot of Leonard Cohen, while the lyrics are à la Smiths, telling the story of a unique encounter at a barbecue.
Listening to this album makes one understand that there is also a melancholy that does not kill (pret-à-porter melancholy?): stay away from it if you're in the mood to smash everything or feel miserable. In any case, give it a chance; it might turn out to be a truly pleasant surprise...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 The Chapter in Your Life Entitled San Francisco (04:30)
Is it April yet?
I forget sometimes how slowly summer passes
You disappeared into Departures
Only half a year ago
It seems like so much more, you know
I went a fortnight without so much as an email
Then a postcard scant of detail
In which you wished me all the best
From the non-specific north west
Should it one day come to pass
That you sit down to your memoirs
Where will this go?
The chapter in your life entitled San Francisco
Are you warm enough?
I remember how the fog comes off the water
And the days are ever shorter
And I worry you’ll be cold
Or have you found someone to hold?
I spent the summer with the curtains drawn against it
Cursing all the nights you’ve wasted
Under unfamiliar stars
Should it one day come to pass
That you sit down to your memoirs
Where will this go?
The chapter in your life entitled San Francisco
Are you ever coming clean?
Or will I never know the meaning
Of the lines you scribbled out
So that I couldn’t read between?
Are you ever coming home?
Or should I learn to do without you?
Should it one day come to pass
That you sit down to your memoirs
Where will this go?
The chapter in your life entitled San Francisco
08 Young and Dumb (03:27)
The last time I saw you
My guitar had just been stolen out the back of a car
And you were showing The Hemlock the scars of your recent break-up
We went searching all over town
Turned the city upside-down
But I forgot what was going on when you lit that place up
My throat was dry
But there was vodka flowing down from the summer sky
And in the Tenderloin that night, I felt a brand new spark now
We were talking after the show
Back at ten-ten-and-a-half
Wanted to tell you that no guitar could fix our broken hearts now
But hold on, the best things happen
When you don’t know what’s going on
Slow down and don’t say nothing
Just remember that we’re still young
And kinda ... dumb
Young and dumb
But hold on, the best things happen
When you don’t know what’s going on
Slow down and don’t say nothing
’Cause the best things in love are still waiting to come
Hold on, the best things happen
When you don’t know what’s going on
Slow down and quit your yappin’
Just remember that we’re still young
And kinda dumb
Young and dumb
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