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| Behold the first album of 2004 (!) that I genuinely love. Why? |
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In short, it's because the tunes are ace, the band can all Play, they're not one of these no-idea retro Strokes-revival bands we've been plagued with, and they write songs which perfectly bridge the gap between rock, pop and dance (sort of) while managing to make it all sound perfectly natural, and listening to them makes me happy to be alive.
Admittedly, inexplicably chosen first single "Freedom Fighters" is a bit of a duffer despite the bouncy guitar hook, and Mr. Harvey's lyrics sometimes leave a little to be desired ("Yeah, the north, it's where we're from/Yeah, the north, it's where we were born", or words to that effect); but Harvey makes up for it by sustaining an ethereally uplifting vocal performance throughout the album, using his built-for-high-notes voice to vault skywards time and again as if he can somehow, salmon-like, ascend to a higher state of being. Ok, so salmon go to their spawning grounds and then die pointlessly, but you get my point.
Harvey also explores his lower range to wonderful effect, most notably on the genius pop single "Into the Night"; here, The Music really bloom in an orgy of sinuously beautiful guitar parts, joyously delicate melodies, a killer chorus I have been singing since I heard it and a rhythm section that managed to put me in a genuinely good mood even as I was walking to work one day. "One Way In, No Way Out" brings the rock with some Led Zeppelin-style bombast before dropping the sort of anthemic chorus that will surely have any crowd singing in heartfelt unison, and "Open Your Mind" is just a sky-scrapingly good ballad.
It's all beautiful stuff, it manages to rock at the same time, and at last someone's released an album that's made me happy to be a listener again (it's also the first album to contain a song, "I Need Love", that's actually made me want to play bass guitar - believe me, that's an achievement).
Welcome to the North isn't perfect, but the material is a massive step beyond their debut. Hurrah for The Music, and may all nay-sayers have to listen to The Libertines forever. |
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| Dan Snowdon - 9/10 |
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