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Rating: "Lost your love of live/too much apple pie/and now Harris walks away/with Johnny’s wife".
"Bizarro" probably isn't a five-star album but it definitely contains "Brassneck", "Granadaland", and "Kennedy": unless proven otherwise, you didn't write them, David Gedge did. The second album from The Wedding Present features a more compact – tight – and polished sound; the drums are tougher, the guitars much rougher and more distorted, and the bass finally takes center stage, often dictating melodic lines where the ensemble churns out a characteristic wall of sound: Gedge’s voice takes a step back, which is a strange choice considering how the lead singer's subdued tone now has to compete with an even denser structure of distortion. The choice of themes doesn't deviate from that of the first album and will continue not to deviate in subsequent albums: Gedge will sing to us (almost) always and (almost) exclusively about his sentimental (para)noias, and let it be known that this doesn't bother me at all, but I'm willing to accept objections on the matter.
Novelty: the song titles are shorter compared to "George Best", but the average duration is longer. The tracks often close with sonic trails, where a faint echo of the Velvet Underground can be heard, and it is precisely in these moments that the band's ability to work on dynamics is perceived, managing to transcend (but not always) the spectrum of monotony: the bed of feedback recalls contemporary listens and if this isn't shoegaze, it's due to the close connection with the concept of the song that keeps The Wedding Present grounded – while it is up to other beloved contemporaries to dream of somewhat more far-out pop worlds. However, there are also relaxed episodes where David Gedge's crooner-like low tone stands out: as I've been made aware, the lad is probably vaguely off-key and certainly lacking in variety, but to your friend's ears and humble reviewer – his voice is unique and perfect in defining the sound of the band.
On the heels of "Bizarro", the mammasantissima Steve Albini would become interested in the band, producing the third album "Seamonsters" (and a new version of the single "Brassneck", included in the CD reissue of the album, where among the extras stands out a quirky version of Tom Jones’s "It’s Not Unusual" – a little gem that could become a party classic if someone ever let me DJ once in a while): therefore, if you don't trust this review, trust those with better ears than mine and seek out this album, seek it out.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Brassneck (04:52)
No, I sent you that letter
To ask you if the end was worth the means
Was there really no in between?
And I still don't feel better
I just wondered if it could be like before
And I think you just made me sure!
But then that's typically you
And I might have been a bit rude
But I wrote it in a bad mood
I'm not being funny with you
But it's hard to be engaging
When the things you love keep changing
Brassneck, Brassneck
I just decided I don't trust you anymore
I just decided I don't trust you anymore
First time you came over
Do you remember saying then you'd stay for good?
No I didn't think you would
Well we couldn't've been closer
But it was different then and that's all in the past
There I've said it now at last!
You grew up quicker than me
I kept so many old things
I never stopped quite hoping
I think I know what it means
It means I've got to grow up
It means you want to throw-up
Brassneck, Brassneck
I just decided I don't trust you anymore
I just decided I don't trust you anymore
I just know, you weren't listening were you?
Oh please go, whenever you prefer to
I said it means a lot, when you use an old phrase
But then so what? We can't have it both ways
I know, you're not bothered are you
Even so, I'm not going to argue
He won't object! Keep writing to me
Just don't forget you ever knew me
02 Crushed (02:44)
Somewhere, sometime
I've got to say this somehow
Oh no, it's fine
I couldn't face it just now
Oh, oh please don't use that voice
I think I've made my choice
I'd change it if I could
Oh you know I'm crushed inside
Oh goodness knows I've tried
I think I've had enough
Oh no, I swear
There's no one else I promise
The phone? Up there
But please don't leave here like this
Oh, oh please don't use that voice
I think I've made my choice
I'd change it if I could
Oh you know I'm crushed inside
Oh goodness knows I've tried
I think I've had enough
You're late, been where?
Worried sick about you
All right, take care
I'm sorry that I hurt you
Oh, oh please don't use that voice
I think I've made my choice
I'd change it if I could
Oh you know I'm crushed inside
Oh goodness knows I've tried
I think I've had enough
04 Thanks (02:23)
I bumped into Joe on Victoria Road
And he told me something
About last weekend, he knows your new boyfriend
(He said he saw it coming)
And those letters I wrote, so now I know
What you do with them
Well of course he looked, you sliced me up
And then showed it to him
He's changed around the posters on your wall
And finished all but one glass of your wine
His head's been on the pillows that I bought
And now he's seen me say "I love you" all those times
And the old photos in those silly clothes
There must be much more
God, the poems I sent and that massive dent
I left in your door
I don't want them back, you can burn the lot
I just feel betrayed
Well it's been this long and all the flesh has gone
But the bones remain
He's changed around the posters on your wall
And finished all but one glass of your wine
His head's been on the pillows that I bought
And now he's seen me say "I love you" all those times
I still can't get mad at you, no matter how I try
I still can't get mad at you, no matter how I try
05 Kennedy (04:22)
Lost your love of life?
Too much apple pie
Oh have you lost your love of life?
Too much apple pie
And now Harry's walked away with Johnny's wife
You've got to pick some people up
You've got to let some people go
But if Lee's name does come up
Oh well I really want to know
Because everybody loves a T.V. show
Lost your love of life?
Too much apple pie
Oh have you lost your love of life?
Too much apple pie
And now Harry's walked away with Johnny's wife
You've got to pick some people up
You've got to let some people go
But if Lee's name does come up
Oh well I really want to know
Because everybody loves a T.V. show
Lost your love of life?
Too much apple pie
Oh have you lost your love of life?
Too much apple pie
And now Harry's walked away with Johnny's wife (ahh)
07 Granadaland (04:50)
(center text)
Can't you come up with something better than that?
Oh I think I'd be more angry
If your answers weren't so daft!
Oh you know I could
But do you really think I would?
When you go up to Granadaland on Sundays
Sally told me that you're practically kissing his feet
Oh, but he hasn't got a car
And so your list of names brought you to me
Anda friend in need
Is a pest indeed
When she uses everybody in the way that you do
You know you're breaking my heart
I can't bear the thought of us being aprat
You know you're breaking my heart
I can't bear the thought of us being aprat
Maybe I'll see you tomorrow if you can spare me the time
Oh no, of course I didn't mean it
I still keep hoping you'll be changing your mind
Okay your choice is clear
But, please, anywhere but here
And stop trying to tell me that you know how I feel
You know you're breaking my heart
I can't bear the thought of us being aprat
You know you're breaking my heart
I can't bear the thought of us being aprat
08 Bewitched (06:43)
I'm not sure and I'm not asking
But I thought I heard you say
"I just walked past him"
But why can I never do anything before you go
I don't know
And outside the streets are empty
There was no time then
And now there's plenty
Oh why do I never get the chance to say a word
When you're on your own
If there's nothing that I want more
Why do my steps get this small
When I reach your front door
And I wait outside for you to come back out
And your light goes out
You don't know me but I'm still here
And God the last time I saw you
You were, oh, this near
And there's a thousand things I wished I'd said and done
But the moment's gone
10 Be Honest (02:43)
This is all because you didn't like my mum
Well I'm afraid I can't get born again
Oh it's not just me who's changed
And can you tell me what it is you think I said
And are you sure that it's not just in your head
And when was this anyway?
And if we're really really going to be honest
We might as well be brief
And by the way I got your little
Along with some dryness in my throat
When I saw that it came from you
Oh was it really too hard to tell me to my face
That you don't long for my embrace
The way you used to do?
And if we're really really going to be honest
We might as well be brief
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