Firstly, it has
to be said that The Wedding Present are up there as one of my top 3 favorite
bands of all time and I augment that with the fact that I've been a fan since I
heard the jingle jangle guitar indie-perfection of "Anyone Can Make A
Mistake" on Radio Scotland's 'Friday Rock Show' circa 1986.
I've also seen
the band live more times than I can remember, have enjoyed mosh pits that range
from the Reading Festival main stage to Aberdeen's Tunnels and have spoken to
David on many occasions with the confidence of a nervous teen meeting their
idol for the first time.
There's a lot
of crap written about the band and main man David Gedge's catalogue since the
debut “George Best” in 86, mainly based on theories of 'all the songs sound the
same', lack of progression etc. Anyone who has lived and breathed this
band for as long as I have (and there are many) will laugh in the face of such
accusers in the sound knowledge that they haven't really listened before they
commented and such behavior is unlikely to be limited to Mr. D Gedge esquire ie
‘see you, your opinions means nothing to me’ :-)
Now, this isn’t
intended to be a justification of the band, it's an (early) comment on the
latest offering. For those who do appreciate the musical nuances of
Gedge’s chronology, it's important to comment on where this collection sits
relative to its predecessors. I contend that we are listening here to the
first true Wedding Present album since 1996's "Saturnalia” ... Justify you
say? OK ...
When David
first put the band on hiatus after “Saturnalia”, he embarked on his new
project, Cinerama, with a view to changing direction and exploring new musical
dimensions to accompany his now legendary indie-angst songwriting ability.
Cinerama delivers all this and more (see what I did there?) and
progressed significantly within its 3-album discography. When The Wedding
Present 'returned' in 2005 with “Take Fountain”, it was really the fourth
Cinerama offering given the fact that the lineup was basically the same as
those who toured Cinerama’s brilliant third offering "Torino"
... Musically and lyrically this claim stands up, what also stands up is the
clam that it is one of Gedge's career highlights, paralleled only by 1991's behemoth
"Seamonsters" IMHO.
2008s "El Rey" sounded confused, David knew he was making a Wedding Present record but the
subtle beauty of Cinerama just wouldn’t let go; hence leaving a nice but messy
offering.
So, to “Valenina”
... What we appear to have here is the natural progression from “Watusi” and “Saturnalia”
but with a fair bit of the edge and enthusiasm that the latter in particular
missed ie it really is a Wedding Present album, and a bloody good one at that!
Many of the
chord progressions and arrangements we've heard before but there's something
new here 'You Jane' aside, which is not really a signpost for the album despite
its choice as lead 'single'.
From the
opening phase shifts of "You’re Dead" to the stunning (really, really
stunning) closer “Mystery Date”, we are offered a potential classic from Mr
Gedge. I don't often say such crazy things on the first date but when I
first met my, now, wife some 16 years ago I knew instantly it could have
longevity; I'm thinking “Valentina” might just stick around a while too !!!
9.0 / 10 (first listen qualified)
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