The Album Review Club - Week #194 (page 1303) - Ants From Up There - Black Country, New Road

I don’t know that I find this record smug as much as I do bitter. I am actually typically quite fond of OPM (other people’s music) disses — and indeed am likely to nominate a record in future rife with such — but put-downs are better done subtly or with humo(u)r (Mojo Nixon’s “Don Henley Must Die”) than directly IMO, and with a bit of self-deprecation would be nice. While “The Campaign For Real Rock” and “North of Heaven” and “Moron” aren’t the be-all of the record, they do stick in the brain because of who and what they trash.

I did enjoy a number of the tunes here. I had no idea who wrote “A Girl Like You” before this — I’d heard it lots, liked it, and always thought the singer sounded like Bowie. “Out of This World” I thought was just as good, and “Low Expectations”, while very different, was another I fell for, despite the fact that EC’s message is a bit lost in how sorry he appears to feel for himself. The title track was another that perked me up. So a good half the record was fairly pleasant if only barely covering up EC’s core trait as a right moaner.

The rest of GG sort of washed over me without making much of an impression. Which then begs the question of what the point is in dismissing the music of others or their fans when what you have to offer is semi-pedestrian. It also renders the love songs a bit off-kilter too — can we trust how you feel when self-pity is such a driving theme?

Production-wise I often tend to cotton to a good stylistic mix; I wasn’t surprised to find that EC took control of the studio board himself. And the periodic burst of guitar (Steve Cook!) hints at some anger or angst that EC isn’t especially good at covering up. But I wasn’t really sure if the Burt Bacharach-ness of some tunes like “If You Could Love Me” (another I found listenable) was meant to be taken seriously or not given the criticisms EC levels at others. So I came away thinking maybe this guy is just passive-aggressive and a bit of the pain in the sphincter. Which is fine if you don’t care what people think — but he clearly does, otherwise he wouldn’t be skewering OPM, right?

A bit of a confused 6/10 that I suspect would be lower if I cared to really delve into the cynicism, but since I don’t, I’ll take the songs at face value and just go with what I enjoyed, which comprised roughly half the album. Definitely an interesting pick!
 
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I'm struggling to get 3 spins on this.
Of the 1.5 I've done so far, i got to the end of the album and had forgot i was listening to anything.

But i shall plod on as always.
 
An easy review this week.
The campaign for real rock and a girl like you a great start.
Nothing after grabbed my attention and 3 plays was a long hard slog.
Like his Orange Juice stuff there are a couple of songs i liked the rest meh.
It could have been worse i suppose.
It could have been the Proclaimers.
4/10.
 
So...if this were to be compared to a breakfast product it has already been desribed as (sonic) porridge.
I would perhaps say that it is more a flavoured porridge, perhaps Golden Syrup?
Starts with that little bit of added flavour that makes you think there is maybe a little more to it than plain old porridge...but then after a few mouthfuls, yep...it's just plain old porridge and therefore a bit "Meh".
2 listens today up and down to Belfast with Mrs IO along for the ride. She shared my view and that of others in that after the first 2 tracks it just loses any real drive or hold on the attention.
We shall see how tomorrows commute treats this
 
Gorgeous George - Edwyn Collins

So NOW I know who sang that Motown groove song from the mid-90's that I heard pretty regularly on the emerging "modern rock" radio stations in that 2nd track. It was fine enough at the time, but didn't go out and grab me to get this selection. I recall enjoying that track more musically than vocally at the time. One US newspaper review well-captured Collins in its review of the album with "virtually no name recognition whatsoever in North America, where he has never released an album or toured". I think that captured things pretty well, probably both then and perhaps still now.

That all said, I enjoyed parts of this found mostly in the first half, including the opening track as a dig at the Lollapaloozas of the world (started in '91), which one almost couldn't escape at that time.

"Low Expectations" had that Ray Davies lyrical wit, and the slow-down delivery of just the guitar was a good approach. I can assure you that the 1994 me hadn't seen the future that is now and I'd take some of that domestic bliss of yesteryear these days.

"Out Of This World" had some nice guitar work around the synths. "If You Could Love Me" was another enjoyment as it reminded me of a nice funky groove song from the 1970s. The flugelhorn was a nice touch there.

"North Of Heaven" sounds a bit dated now with the GNR dig. Lyrics that include the same words that Howard Jones once sang to "Things Can Only Get Better" sound just a bit more optimistic, right?

Things kind of plodded along towards the end, but the standout for me musically was "Make Me Feel Again". 'Songs about love' he's got down pretty good, but somehow the bluesy "I've Got It Bad" didn't hit as much for me.

The album didn't end for me on a high note either - maybe I just didn't get it or perhaps am one, but that doesn't bother me. It's a 6/10 for me mostly on the first half of the album in the first 5 songs. I do appreciate the variety that this thread delivers, especially in weeks like this.
 
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Big Joe Corrigan said:
I love Edwyn, whether solo or with Orange Juice. He was the last gig I saw before Covid lockdown. I’ll be going to see him on his farewell tour later this year.
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Me too. I was a big fan of Orange Juice back in the day. I also liked the bits and pieces he did with Roddy Frame from Aztec Camera. I think at one time both bands would have been with Postcard Records.

Anyway a solid 8 from me.
 
I was pleasantly surprised by this, and enjoyed it. A solid 8.

Because the well known Girl Like You is such a fucking meh, drab, paint by numbers, generate your own diy hit, nothing of a song - I never bothered giving Edwin's solo stuff a go. And my expectations of this album were somewhat low.

Thankfully the album has a lot more expression, emotion and richness beyond that. Channeling a bit of Nick Cave lone showman, but then I quite like NC. Uses distinctiveness of voice to paper over deficiences in singing here and there, but don't many others? Given I have gone on about how much I like some of Hamish Hawk's albums, which let's face it, channel this as much as this channels Nick Cave, why wouldn't I like this. It is a touch on the too long side as an album, and tails off a bit, but enough there to enjoy before that happens. Nice one to uncover, and one that goes against that 'if I didn't liked it at the time, can't like it now' conundrum. Good pick.
 
I think i'm pretty much done with listening to it at this point so will give it my opinion.

Meh.

As such, I won't dwell on it too much.
Another album that doesn't stand well to critical listening. Put on a decent pair of headphones, or play it through a reasonable HIFI and the pop varnish burns away immediately leaving a bare skeleton of mediocrity.
I really didn't like the production and mastering. Too much effects and adjustments used because the band and the singer are just not up to it. The latter caught me by surprise. In the days of his hit record, you'd be ok because it was always through some car radio of pub speaker or whatever, but upfront and personal, George just cannot sing.
I called it sonic porridge. How apt because the bowl was far too full. The album should have been chopped in half and that's where the producer didn't do his job properly.

It failed to hold my attention and I just could not get on board with it.

4/10.
 
Not quite as good as I remember it but still pretty enjoyable. It’s a reasonable reflection of his broader career, a little uneven in places but pretty solid overall with some top moments too. I think he’s on record saying he records quickly and likes to not over engineer things, that might come over as slightly undercooked from a production perspective for some people but as a conscious choice I’ve always been good with it.

I think on balance I’d agree that some of the vitriol hasn’t aged that well, especially if you are coming to this for the first time; but I have no recollection of being put off by it at the time and it mostly doesn’t really bother me now. I see some of it as wryly morose rather than outright nasty; and morose I’m good with!

Some people have commented on his vocals but though he's far from technically perfect his vocals fit the songs and I've heard plenty worse on the thread. I like this kind of music as part of a varied diet, it's not a massively taxing listen and unlike some others I don't get bogged down in it. There are a couple of weaker songs and I've never really been a fan of the closing track but there’s a pleasing variety of songs on here that show him to be a strong indie pop songwriter. 7.5/10.
 
RobMCFC said:
I saw a teenager walking out of Galaxy’s Edge today and he was wearing a Sleep Token t-shirt.
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On Spotify we have a family blend mix thing so we get a selection of all the stuff we've been listening to. Had it on over dinner. A song started and I said "what's this it sounds kind of cool?" It was only the beginning of Chokehold! I nearly choked on my chips!

Genuinely think they are a highly rated band by most though.
 
It was another commute listen today and I'm afraid this one still failed to grab me, There was the odd slight change of tempo across this, but again nothing that really got me and held onto my attention. Once again @threespires has said what I was thinking..."it's not massively taxing", but if that's what I'm thinking it's not really going to be anythng above a 6 from the Derry jury.
As said, perhaps chopped in half it may have come across as stronger as those starting tracks gave it more ooompf
 
I’m afraid this is another one in the middle of the road territory for me. It’s not bad it’s not great. Not overly fussed about his vocals, but it seems a decent fit with the overall sound.
Found the opener a bit annoying lyrically - repetition is not always great - but like a few tracks there are some decent guitar effects going on.
6/10
 
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