The latest, greatest new thing. How soon they fade. Suede were all over the music press just over a decade ago and now they have split after a couple of really lacklustre albums. On the other hand 10 years in the music business is about 9 1/2 years longer than most bands manage. How will FF fare?
The new album starts like it’s still 1978 with the poppy/punky/spiky “Jacqueline”. This is followed by the angular vaguely Middle Eastern guitar figures of “Tell Her Tonight”, so far so The Cure circa “Three Imaginary Boys”. Then comes the Top 5 single “Take Me Out”, which is a rather good metaphor for the album as whole. It starts off in a very normal fashion, nothing new, pleasant melody slides beneath the usual “lonely guy” lyrics. Then the whole song slides to halt and restarts as another song entirely, a much more interesting beast.
The album develops from there on in a much more satisfying fashion, living up to the hype, with “The Dark of the Matinee” and “Darts of pleasure” being the obvious standout tracks. It is all very late 1970s early 1980s art rock: angular shapes, spiky guitar figures and they have clearly been listening to Joy Division, possibly to some of the great lost early 80s Scottish bands (Joseph K, Simple Minds when they were all Kraftwerk/European dance rather than the bloaty sub-U2 stadium rock of the mid80s onwards, Paul Quinn, Orange Juice/Edwyn Collins). Is a return to 1978 a bad thing? No, we are due a HUGE kick up the corporate backside and with a few more bands like FF we might get one. Well, I can dream can’t I?
Originally published February 29, 2004
