Review Summary: The 'Best New Band in Britain's' debut lives up to the hype.
Let’s face it; it isn’t that hard to win the praise of the UK music press. Its only six years since the NME hailed The Vines (yes, The Vines!!) as the saviors of rock ‘n’ roll, to the point where they published a diagram, showing how singer Craig Nicholls' watch bestowed messianic powers upon him. Admittedly their debut was a good rock album, but they are hardly a band that will be remembered with legendry status. So when the same magazine calls a new band named Glasvegas ‘the best new band in Britain,’ and ‘Scotland’s best since The Jesus And Mary Chain’ you can’t help but feel a little sceptical.
This scepticism led to curiosity, which along with hearing some singles encouraged me to buy the bands debut album. Somewhat surprisingly, it actually lives up to the hype, mainly because of a winning formula that includes atmospheric walls of sound as well as genuine anthems.
If you aren’t sure what to expect, opener
Flowers & Football Tops will give you a pretty good idea. Guitar and drum parts are very simple, and behind them is a huge wall of sound, not unlike something you would hear from Jesus And Mary Chain or Phil Spector. Those looking for outstanding vocals won’t be impressed, as singer James Allan delivers in a thick Scottish accent, making it sound as if he is honking rather than singing, but this feature strangely gels well with the music, and only adds to the albums atmosphere.
As this excellent opener fades out, a simple guitar riff signals the arrival of the albums first highlight, the single
Geraldine.
Geraldine is an anthem that would not sound out of place in stadiums, such is its power. I personally cannot remember any other song about a social worker that sounded so huge yet beautiful at the same time, a strength that helped it reach number sixteen at its peak on the UK chart.
Geraldine offers only one of the wide variety of social issues tackled on the album. Later tracks feature lyrics about the likes of knife crime and breakdowns of relationships, issues that have surely come to Allan’s attention through living in a rough area of Glasgow.
Along with
Geraldine, the other highlights are
Go Square Go! and
Daddy’s Gone. The former sounds like just another album track, that is until the closing chant of;
“Here we, Here we, Here we ***ing go!, that is sure to make it a live favourite. This provides an upbeat atmosphere amongst the gloom, something that cannot be said for
Daddy’s Gone, another successful single.
Daddy’s Gone is the story of a child that misses his father after his parents have separated, and is without doubt the most emotional song on the album. There is very little instrumentation, only James Allan’s vocals, which are brilliantly delivered, with lyrics such as;
"I wont be the lonely one/ Sitting on my own and sad/ A fifty year old Reminiscing what I had” seemingly coming straight from the heart on this extra-personal song. After this point, the album begins to 'fade out,' much like most of the songs.
These songs near the end of the album don't sound too great on their own, but within the context of the album, they fit in very well. The album also seems to be built around those that do sound good on their own, the singles. Whilst an album having clear standout tracks is usually a bad thing, here it actually works, as the album works very well as a whole.
Some of the albums strengths can backfire and become weaknesses. Whilst the wall of sound in the background works brilliantly in enhancing atmosphere, it can mean that a lot of the songs sound similar. Also, some may feel that the album fading out is an anti-climax. These flaws, however do not greatly affect what is otherwise an excellent debut.
Glasvegas aren’t receiving much attention outside UK, but that could change with a good second album. Producing a good follow up could also raise the profile of this album, meaning in the future, this might just be seen as a classic.
Reccomended Tracks
Geraldine
Daddy's Gone
Lonesome Swan
Go Square Go!
Flowers And Football Tops
