All I really wanted to know was if the record contained anything to match the sublime Velcro from Bell X1's previous album Bloodless Coup. I decided that if it did, I'd be content whatever the rest of the tunes were like.
I'm happy to report that the three Irishmen that make up the core of the band come up with the goods in the closing track, The End Is Nigh.
The presentiment that our days on the planet are numbered may not sound like the ideal basis for a joyful pop song but they turn this foreboding into a seize-the-day reason to strive for existential bliss :"these moments are fleeting and they are pure". Perfect pop.
The band's sixth studio album is produced by Peter Katis (The National) and Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman.
The phrase 'chop chop' generally means 'hurry hurry' or more colloquially, get an eff-ing move on! Dutifully following this advice, the album was recorded in rapid time, just two weeks. This speedy approach is perhaps a recognition that over-produced versions could so easily turn these songs into the type of stadium blitzers that drain them of any life force.
For all that, the slickly produced album certainly doesn't sound like a rush job. The Arcade Fire meets Talking Heads meets Elbow aspects of Bell X1's sound are present together with further proof that they have the happy knack of writing life-affirming songs albeit with an undercurrent of wistfulness.
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Starlings Over Brighton Pier, the opening track, sets the mood, conjuring up images of a moody walk on the beach, musing bleakly that the birds "would block out the sun if there was one". The piano loop helps create the right setting for this mini-power ballad.
Singer Paul Noonan has the kind of melancholy voice that sounds sad but not self pitying. A Thousand Little Downers and Motorcades are other standouts, the latter being the only song I know to name check Venezuela's national anthem.
With just nine tunes and a playing time of under 40 minutes, the album is a tad short but at least you won't find any fillers here.
Quality trumps quantity and this is another classy collection of songs from this fine band.
Bell X1's website
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