The Solarflares
Laughing Suns

There aren't many who can boast thirty years of honorable service in rock'n'roll.

Apart from the sacred monsters who still roam the stages of half the world mostly in a state of unsettling induced mummification or the survivors of excesses of drugs, sex, and alcohol who aren't denied a pathetic/revivalistic reunion, those who have always, with honesty, without overdoing it, and above all with something to say, still generate enthusiasm are truly few. REM, Robyn Hitchcock, Mark Smith, and a few others come to mind. Among these, Graham Day who since 1978 - very quietly indeed - continues to deliver his music, garage-beat, rhythm and blues, soul, with an attitude that remains fresh and vibrant that - in my humble opinion - gives a run for their money to the hundreds of last-generation bands that, almost weekly, "rediscover" the sixties spirit. Graham Day gained some notoriety with the Prisoners in the early 80s in a scene - the English one - very penalized when it comes to garage-rock. If you wanted to emerge, you had to be American, Swedish, or at the very least Australian; the English - maybe because the "hyper-trendy" press saw them simply as revivalists? - had little luck: Dentists, Mood Six, the "A Splash of Colour" compilation, who remembers them? In any case, Mister Day continued undeterred with his mix of Beatles, Kinks, Yardbirds, Who, Small Faces - melodic beat, vigorous and instantly engaging - even with the Prime Movers, Mighty Caesars (with another icon of Anglo-Saxon beat, Billy Childish) and Solarflares. According to him, the best period is precisely this last one: a handful of records with an overwhelming impact, carrying a contagious euphoria, the result of an immense ability to blend into a perfect mix all the best of English beat. Imagine a cover band with a very high level of technical expertise that knows the mechanisms of rock and roll in depth, first-class professionals who make the history of music scroll before your eyes without tricks or deceit starting from the Mersey-beat, going through the brief mod season of the Who - but also the Jam - and not shying away from a few forays into 70s hard rock. This is the Solarflares, with one small difference: they don't perform covers, only original music. Evidently, Mr. Day doesn't feel the need since his entire being is projected into those magical years. Probably Solarflares are the English counterpart of the Chesterfield Kings.

The lousy grainy photo of the "Laughing Suns" album I found testifies to the scarcity of information available on the Web: if you type Solarflares on Google, you'll mostly be presented with spectacular astronomical phenomena, with "Graham Day," Wikipedia will talk about an obscure Canadian legislator. A bit better with YouTube: under Graham Day & the Gaolers (the latest incarnation of our man), you can get an idea, albeit vague, of the sonic impact of their performances. I wouldn't ask too much from life if not the chance to attend one of their concerts a meter and a half from the stage in a club of thirty people!

"Dragging You Down" at the beginning illustrates right away what the story is like: assault garage sound of rare power and also the subsequent "The Same Story" hard-rock oriented, but always with the unwavering Anglo-Saxon melodic imprint; "Unsociable" intro and riff à la Who; "Remember Me" features a dense hard rock guitar then flows into an anthemic chorus; "Moonshine Of Your Love" instrumental with blaring trumpets and Charlatans-style keyboards (UK) is sort of the lemon sorbet of the situation; "Every Way I Lose" with a drum overture I put on repeat a hundred times, is a dizzying beat-mod track and the best of the batch; "Really Want Me" a "sunny" and robust jingle-jangle with an irresistible riff.

Moral of the story, get yourself this little disc - from the heart - if you don't like it, I'll give you your money back.