Review Summary: The standard remains high, but For Some Strange Reason lacks the vitality of previous albums
On Aslan’s 2001 hit ‘Love Is All You Need,’ frontman Christy Dignam croons,
“everybody’s heard the Beatles song / but I’d rather listen to the Rolling Stones… any day.” There’s a hint of the Chuck Ds about Dignam’s exaggerated sentiments- the Public Enemy leader famously proclaimed
“Elvis was a hero to most / but he didn’t mean shit to me”- but it obscures the fact that, along with a few other important names,
the Beatles have perhaps been the band’s most visible influence over their quarter-century existence, and this is no more evident than on their fifth studio album,
For Some Strange Reason.
At the height of their respective popularities, Irish rock critics constantly made comparisons between
Oasis and Aslan and, in a sense, Aslan were the Irish answer to the unelected spokesmen for Britain’s frustrated working class. They shared very similar musical heritages, though Aslan were more clearly indebted to
David Bowie and
the Smiths than the Who and the Beatles. Released in 1997, Aslan’s
Here Comes Lucy Jones and Oasis’
Be Here Now were uncannily similar at times- singles ‘Chains’ and ‘Stand By Me’ for instance- clairvoyant, even, as there seems to have been no contact between the groups at any point. One of
For Some Strange Reason’s standout tracks, ‘Sooner Or Later,’ is the most reminiscent of this period, evoking Oasis’ ‘Cast No Shadow’ with strained chorus vocals, combined with Harrison-esque guitars, while the vitriolic ‘Sold Out For Fame’ trudges along with hints of Noel Gallagher’s overlooked gem ‘Where Did It All Go Wrong?’
For all the comparisons, however, Aslan’s core sound is distinct and almost instantly recognisable. Christy Dignam’s crackly, high-pitched vocals and casual, conversational singing style remain as distinguished as ever- though he seems to have moderated his tendency to mispronounce the letter R- and blend almost telepathically with the support vocals of guitarist Joe Jewell. Indeed, the interplay of all four singing members, but particularly those two, is one of the band’s greatest assets, as shown by the superb Lennon-esque harmonies of ‘Bullets and Diamonds’ (featuring
Damien Dempsey) and the trippy back-and-forths which intersperse the prog-alt. rock of ‘Out of Ground.’ ‘Run This Race’ ranks among the most effortlessly brilliant tracks in the band’s catalogue, a theatrical adventure in classic rock which recalls vintage Jellyfish, and boasts the killer hook,
“I don’t relate to anything or anyone / So don’t get too close” The singles, though not of the standard of the singles of previous albums, at least sound fresh enough for radio, as the Killers-tinged electronics of second single ‘Jealous Little Thing’ demonstrate.
Yet, while
For Some Strange Reason is occasionally brilliant, all too often it sounds as if the group are operating on autopilot. ‘Run This Race’ and ‘Sooner Or Later’ could easily compete with the likes of ‘Chains’ and ‘This Is,’ but the bulk of the album is nowhere near as inspiring. Musicians of Aslan’s calibre rarely produce bad music- aside from a couple of clunkers in ‘Summer Meets The Rain’ and closer ‘Best Days,’ the material is well-constructed and well-executed- but for now they appear a little too comfortable in their own skins, and their music is lacking a little in terms of liveliness as a result.
