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After the reviews I was in two minds about getting this (it's been accused of being a bit joyless, generally given around three out of five stars, and damned with faint praise, to say the least.) Plus it's by Damon, never one to miss an opportunity to shoot himself in the foot in interviews. And the recent live performances on TV haven't seemed all that promising.
I had a definite 'Oh God, what's the point?' moment while I was queuing at the counter in Virgin, but I'm glad I went ahead anyway. On the face it, it looks like a painfully self-conscious project (Paul Simonon from The Clash on bass, Tony Allen on drums, when in either case it could be anyone, arguably; the fact that it seems to be intended as a 'state of the nation' address, as if Damon's so annoyed by the coverage Pete Doherty's been getting lately with regard to his status as an English poet that he, Damon, feels like he has to forcibly reclaim his territory; the references to Iain Sinclair, Peter Ackroyd and psychogeography in the interviews,) but it does really hang together, all the same. At it's best, it's like dub-ish reworking of the Kinks, The Beach Boys and in particular Morrissey (there's a lot about canals and gas works in the lyrics, there are vague, and not so vague, allusions to some sort of bad debt that British society's going to have to pay, soon,) as composed by wistful men in a decrepit pub on the South Bank, with a song in their hearts, and their heads in their hands. Fresh in the shops this week, it already has the slightly lived-in feeling that's the mark of a good album to get stoned to, and all in all, it does most of what it set to do, I think, which is to remind everyone of why it's important to live in London, even though the old place is falling to pieces. Best thing I've heard in ages, actually.
But what does anyone else think? |
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