The Album Review Club - Week #128 - (page 1587) - Pretty Vicious - The Struts

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Nice review.

I didn't really hear The Smithereens in there, but what an album Smithereens 11 is - "A Girl Like You" was one of my favourite songs from the early 90s (I bought the album the year after it came it).

Just a bit, only a smithereen :)

 

[RobMCFC]

By the way, whilst @FogBlueInSanFran and @BlueHammer85 are both here - better fire up your word processors, chaps, because it looks like we have got to the end of our list of nominators and we could well be on round #2 next week.

I know CruBlue1 has taken a bit of time away from the forum and I haven't heard anything from BimboBob for a bit. They can both slip in with a nom at a time that suits them.

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

First of all, point of order (cuz our OP brought it up): U2 sold their souls from the opening riff of "I Will Follow", lifted blatantly from PiL, long before they did Joshua Tree. And I LIKE U2 -- even still. And for a while I REALLY liked them -- I've probably seen them more than any other band live. But they've been sell-outs from day one. I don't even think of them as Irish; I think of them as Catholic. Try to tell me "Gloria" wasn't written for a 70,000 seat football stadium -- and that was from only their second record! Now The Stunning -- I'll think of THEM as Irish.

That out of the way, I found this record quite bright and pleasant, maybe a tad slight, slow in spots, and not quite crunchy enough for my taste, but a good listen anyhow. They're better when they're moving then when they slow down IMO, but I typically like up-tempo so that's just me -- their slow stuff is attractive enough, it's just not music I typically listen to. Among their faster songs, I heard The Feelies in here, which I mentioned, as well as a bit of Gin Blossoms and Smithereens and Lemonheads once in awhile -- all bands I've enjoyed. I also liked the addition of the brass and accordion and harmonica -- they don't overwhelm, or clutter the tunes -- they differentiate and accentuate them. The big winners here are the arrangements and production -- they're crisp and clear and interesting.

I heard the BOC rip right away on "Brewing Up A Storm" but that doesn't diminish anything -- that's a GREAT tune, and I bet it smokes on stage. That will go on rotation for me! The Johnny Cash chug-along "Got To Get Away" is another fun one. "The Girl With The Curl" has a good riff as well, but I really loved the specificity of the lyrics -- I seem to cotton to songs about SPECIFIC women for some reason, described in detail (cf. "Jane Said" by Jane's Addiction, "Heroin Girl" by Everclear, and Husker Du's "Books About UFOs" among many others). Likewise, "Town For Sale" was another one with a laundry list of little and particular observations -- a lot of nouns. This song really works for me, with the simplicity of the percussion matching the pace of town life and the keys and guitar the hum of activity, as if remembering what it used to be like. This is really a thoughtful, poignant piece of work. There were other bits and pieces I enjoyed too -- like the line "If I have to take a poison/It might as well be yours" from "A Delicate Web" (I didn't realize it was live until the end), and that rootsy lilt of "Roll and Tumble."

I can see how they'd be a good -- really good, actually -- band to see live in a club or at a small festival, but not in a stadium (like U2), though I read they opened for Dylan, so I wonder how they sounded in a cavernous place. There's nothing big or declamatory or pretentious about their music, which is a plus, but they don't have U2's hooks either. 6/10 from me, leaning 7 not 5 -- I think an all up-tempo, riff-oriented record would get a higher score.

Point of order…
U2 are not Catholic.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Point of order…
U2 are not Catholic.

I didn't say they were! I said I THINK of them as Catholic because thematically, they absolutely are, and as a product of Catholic education from ages 6 through 22 (including nine years with the Jesuits), I hear Biblical and dogmatic influences (not their dogma, just hymns that are connected to dogma, and Bono is dogmatic sometimes anyhow) everywhere in their earlier stuff. Hell, "40" is a psalm. You can use Christian instead if you want if you think Catholic is too specific or too much of an Irish trope; that's probably better, so point taken.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

By the way, whilst @FogBlueInSanFran and @BlueHammer85 are both here - better fire up your word processors, chaps, because it looks like we have got to the end of our list of nominators and we could well be on round #2 next week.

I know CruBlue1 has taken a bit of time away from the forum and I haven't heard anything from BimboBob for a bit. They can both slip in with a nom at a time that suits them.

I'm ready whenever.

 

[GoatersLeftShin]

Had a listen this afternoon and thought it was ok.

I quite liked some of the songs, but nothing really grabbed me. I did quite like the country/folky sound on "Got to get away" and "A Delicate Web" - I think when they do that, it does add something to the songs. I also liked some of the slower songs like "Roll and Tumble" and "An Empty Feeling" too.

Overall it was ok for me, probably not quite enough in there to make me come back for another listen but pleasant enough overall.

6/10

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

I didn't say they were! I said I THINK of them as Catholic because thematically, they absolutely are, and as a product of Catholic education from ages 6 through 22 (including nine years with the Jesuits), I hear Biblical and dogmatic influences (not their dogma, just hymns that are connected to dogma, and Bono is dogmatic sometimes anyhow) everywhere in their earlier stuff. Hell, "40" is a psalm. You can use Christian instead if you want if you think Catholic is too specific or too much of an Irish trope; that's probably better, so point taken.

Evangelical Christian is what they were in the early days.
Larry Mullen’s parent’s were Catholic but sent him to Mount Temple which is a non denominational school (literally 5 mins down the road from me), where he met the rest of the band.
Bono’s dad was Catholic and his mam was Protestant.
The other two come from Protestant backgrounds although out of all of them, I don’t think Adam Clayton was ever that bothered.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

great review and pretty much sums up where I am with it , although I do warm to the slower tunes on here. Few more days of listening and not bored of it at all.

It’s a very good record — just some of the songs are not necessarily my speed. I can see why it was popular. They have a style and timbre that’s very winning. And some of the lyrics are terrific.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Evangelical Christian is what they were in the early days.
Larry Mullen’s parent’s were Catholic but sent him to Mount Temple which is a non denominational school (literally 5 mins down the road from me), where he met the rest of the band.
Bono’s dad was Catholic and his mam was Protestant.
The other two come from Protestant backgrounds although out of all of them, I don’t think Adam Clayton was ever that bothered.

Adam Clayton was never that bothered about learning to play the bass either! Sorry — I always make that joke; he’s fine. But in the early days he was ALWAYS looking at the frets when played :)

 

[mancity2012_eamo]

Adam Clayton was never that bothered about learning to play the bass either! Sorry — I always make that joke; he’s fine. But in the early days he was ALWAYS looking at the frets when played :)

None of them could play early on, which is why none of my mates nor me were interested in going to their gigs even though they were local.
Bono was always a prat and they preached even back then, which was another turn off.
I remember my best mate telling me the next day, that they were at a house party in Portmarnock which I had missed, and Bono was preaching and pontificating in the kitchen with Dave and Larry. My mates making fun of them for it!!!!
At that point they were doing gigs in The Dandelion Market for 50p admittance, which we wouldn’t waste to go to.

Whose laughing now.
Shows what me and my mates knew about music.

We were right about Bono though. I mean how pretentious was calling yourself Bono and The Edge when effectively you couldn’t sing or play.