British Sea Power - 'The Decline Of...' (Rough Trade)
4/5
By: Toby L
Ah, so here it is.
A whole year and a half after the Brighton four-piece first begun getting early, rave write-ups and regular plaudits for 'Best New British Band', BSP now at last deliver the goods: an eleven-track, debut LP. And, every minute of it - well, it's f**king marvellous.
Just a shame the initial enthusiasm hasn't been quite patient enough. The whole 'garage-rock' thing has happened in between this and the band's prior first steps. So the 'Power were effectively shelved as 'not cool enough' to feature within the pages of those that originally pronounced their affections. But, screw 'em all anyway - if anything, it'll work out to the four-piece's undoubted, quirky, perkily irregular favour.
British Sea Power, you'd guess then, aren't a band familiar with the concept of mediocrity. They have cannons of genius at their disposal - and exert more thrilling diversity, complexity and subtly melodic moments of indie grandeur than any of their peers, and still sound remarkably timeless in the same breath. Admirably too, none of the plus-points are gained at the compromise of humour and charm - two rare assets that infuse 'The Decline Of British Sea Power' with so much of its unique clumsiness and panache.
So, cue moments of occasional hilarity (the opening instrumental, 'Men Together Today'), following bouts of The Coral-esque vibrancy ('Apologies To Insect Life') and raging, pubescent urgency (the racing 'Favours In The Beetroot Fields', or perfect Rough Trade debut-45, 'Remember Me').
And via a delicate 'Lately', and run of singles - the wistful 'Carrion', infectious 'Fear Of Drowning', plus plod of 'The Lonely' - a once complex work suddenly opens itself up for more public consumption, and ends in the kitchen-sink-and-all hugeness of 'A Wooden Horse', gigantic guitars and Joy Division break-outs that faithfully encompass all the grandiose intelligence of their creators.
So it's different. Yes, a touch high-brow in parts. But open yourself up now to stars of the future - because, by the time the next one lands, it'll be nigh-on impenetrable to try and get to the front rows of any shows they'll undertake.
Artists in this article: British Sea Power
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