Futureheads - News and Tributes album review
Futureheads - News and Tributes album review
Originally published at http://www.disordermagazine.com/article.php?id=279
Here it comes, washing over us in a massive all-consuming wave with the ability to take everything away. Some will survive and make it through to see many glorious and successful years ahead of them, whilst many others will find themselves treading water before fading into the abyss. Who will float? Who will drown? What is this wave I speak of? The purpose of this slightly tenuous metaphor is to illustrate the glut of dreaded second albums that are due to start flooding our way. Bands such as Kaiser Chiefs and Hard-Fi could lose it all with a poor record in much the same way as The Darkness, and now its The Futureheads time of judgment. So how to they fare?
One of the first things to note is the pace of this collection of 12 songs. No longer is almost every song a precise punky 3 minutes of pop in the vein of The Clash or The Knacks My Sherona. Fallout is our first example of how The Futureheads manage to retain that trademark jerky rhythm whilst displaying a sound that has truly evolved since their self-titled debut. Rather than rushing the listener along with a furious beat this track has an epic relaxing quality that massages the ears with a haunting set of harmonies that displays the impressive vocal talent within the band. In fact the whole album is sort of a showcase for font man Barry Hydes ability to be much more than just an impersonator of Paul Weller in his Jam era.
As the angular guitar riffs take a back seat the vocals take centre stage, allowing Hyde to croon and soar with all the confidence of a man certain of his ability and a point to prove. He sounds excited to be given a second stab at the album lark and is using the platform to show us his bands versatility. Burnt is an acoustically-led melancholic number, with dark, haunting verses mixed with an uplifting chorus that once again displays the excellent harmonic vocal style that is such a powerful weapon in this intricate set of tunes.
Despite the change, fans of the old Futureheads material need not fret. Yes/No and Skip to The End stand out as being as chant-along-able as Hounds of Love, although there are changes even to the style of potential singles on this album. The old precise guitar sound has been roughened up a bit, and is most notable in Return of The Bezerker in which guitars are thrashed around at a ridiculous rate of knots with the energy of men years their junior. Whereas the first album presented what The Futureheads could perform, News and Tributes is a testament to their true creative prowess, signaling a recording career potentially more varied and intriguing than the entertaining yet samey debut suggested. Hopefully the Kaisers and Hard-Fi are paying attention, although Justin Hawkins should probably ignore this to avoid developing a bitter sense of jealousy.
8/10
Released May 29th on 679 Recordings
www.thefutureheads.com
30 May 2006 by Matt S.
Originally published at http://www.disordermagazine.com/article.php?id=279
Here it comes, washing over us in a massive all-consuming wave with the ability to take everything away. Some will survive and make it through to see many glorious and successful years ahead of them, whilst many others will find themselves treading water before fading into the abyss. Who will float? Who will drown? What is this wave I speak of? The purpose of this slightly tenuous metaphor is to illustrate the glut of dreaded second albums that are due to start flooding our way. Bands such as Kaiser Chiefs and Hard-Fi could lose it all with a poor record in much the same way as The Darkness, and now its The Futureheads time of judgment. So how to they fare?
One of the first things to note is the pace of this collection of 12 songs. No longer is almost every song a precise punky 3 minutes of pop in the vein of The Clash or The Knacks My Sherona. Fallout is our first example of how The Futureheads manage to retain that trademark jerky rhythm whilst displaying a sound that has truly evolved since their self-titled debut. Rather than rushing the listener along with a furious beat this track has an epic relaxing quality that massages the ears with a haunting set of harmonies that displays the impressive vocal talent within the band. In fact the whole album is sort of a showcase for font man Barry Hydes ability to be much more than just an impersonator of Paul Weller in his Jam era.
As the angular guitar riffs take a back seat the vocals take centre stage, allowing Hyde to croon and soar with all the confidence of a man certain of his ability and a point to prove. He sounds excited to be given a second stab at the album lark and is using the platform to show us his bands versatility. Burnt is an acoustically-led melancholic number, with dark, haunting verses mixed with an uplifting chorus that once again displays the excellent harmonic vocal style that is such a powerful weapon in this intricate set of tunes.
Despite the change, fans of the old Futureheads material need not fret. Yes/No and Skip to The End stand out as being as chant-along-able as Hounds of Love, although there are changes even to the style of potential singles on this album. The old precise guitar sound has been roughened up a bit, and is most notable in Return of The Bezerker in which guitars are thrashed around at a ridiculous rate of knots with the energy of men years their junior. Whereas the first album presented what The Futureheads could perform, News and Tributes is a testament to their true creative prowess, signaling a recording career potentially more varied and intriguing than the entertaining yet samey debut suggested. Hopefully the Kaisers and Hard-Fi are paying attention, although Justin Hawkins should probably ignore this to avoid developing a bitter sense of jealousy.
8/10
Released May 29th on 679 Recordings
www.thefutureheads.com
30 May 2006 by Matt S.
posted by Matthew Simpson | 10:01 PM
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