James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
If the presence of Yorkshire-born hip hop artist Kid Acne in support was a statement of intent for a more beat-driven sound in the LB's new material it was an unsuccessful one. Despite the playful content of tunes like 'Worst Luck' (with the chorus "I got two phones like a drug dealer / Two phones like a drug dealer") Acne's scattergun rhyming and comic book expressions failed to set the venue alight, even with a guest appearance from Long Blondes' drummer Screech (who should definitely stick to the day job). Like a hyperactive overachiever, Kid Acne has lots of energy but no direction.
Fortunately the headliners were lacking neither of those attributes. After a slew of 60s pop gems shimmered through the PA, The Long Blondes took to the stage to show a nuclear explosion of energy straightjacketed into ice-cool control with 'Century', lead single from Couples and a tune that comes on like the Cure, Siouxie and Blondie freeze-dried in their prime, plonked into a smoothie maker, mashed, and reanimated for 2008.
New material was characterized by Cure-esque keyboards and complicated off kilter drum beats. The best new tune was a slow-burning but quietly aggressive ballad with "I know you're only doing what comes naturally" as a half-reassuring, half-threatening refrain. However, it was left to "Here Comes The Serious Bit" - containing an instant singalong chorus assuring future 'live favourite' status and an obvious single release - to be the most instantly danceable song from the second album.
Predictably for the first night of a tour for an as-yet unreleased album it was the older tunes that really got the crowd going. 'Lust in The Movies' was a particular highlight, causing a frenzy of bouncing and band-member grabbing from the hard-core at the front. If the story that the group were banned from Fibbers on their second visit for having a bad attitude and "saying the f-word" was true, there certainly wasn't any sign of it here as the band's energy on stage spilled out into the venue.
The only issues came in the second half, where the set seemed to tail off; as the last notes were played there was a slightly underwhelming feeling, with much of the audience waiting for an explosive encore that never came. Whether this can be explained by this being the first night of a tour with a whole album's worth of new material still finding its place, or if it is a worrying pointer as to the quality of the new material remains to be seen. With Couples released on March 24th and a North American tour just announced lets hope it's the former.
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