The Speed Of Sound have been a well kept Manchester secret for most to the bands existence since forming in 1987 and putting the bands first ep out in 1989. This latest album was recorded in Manchester.
This opens with Tomorrows World that isn't a re-working of the fabulous theme tune to that program, but instead is an Indie pop Anthem of some regret that we are now living in today's world rather than the utopia once promised, almost hoping we could go back to the good old days.
Opium Eyes is played far faster than it would be if the person with the Opium Eyes was playing this, as they ask them to open their eyes, well the one thing made clear to me when I took Opium, was to not go to sleep or close your eyes, so go on keep those peepers open and enjoy the buzz as this flies at you like a good amphetamine rush.
Smokescreen is a song that’s all too current with the awful Ukrainian war ongoing and the obfuscation and opaque messages as to what is and isn’t happening unfurl in stark real time, this has a good back and forth between Anne-Marie Crowley and John Armstrong's vocals.
Zombie Century is an attack on all the phone zombies walking around glued to the phones and not interacting with each other, this has an indie goth feel to it.
Wired And Tired has a bit of A Happy Mondays style baggy feel to it as it lopes along like they are at the end of a good long weekend going for it, but still need to keep going.
Virtual Reality (Part 2) slows things down making it sound like early Everything But The Girl, before they went dance, as they wonder what reality is in this day and age.
Shadow Factory has a more downbeat feel as the weave in and out of the Shadow Factory without Lurking too much as the cool synth keyboards lift things up in time for a very glammy guitar solo that has echoes of Mick Ronson.
Impossible Past feels like they have found out that someone's bragging turns out to be very far from reality over spiky guitars as they try to believe that someone's life really was like Swallows And Amazons and other claims.
Leaf Blower is about another bloke who spouts hot air like he's a Leaf Blower with some cool jangly guitar as we try to take in all the rubbish coming out of that Leaf Blowers mouth.
Blood Sweat And Tears will be shed if you're going to make ends meet, this sounds nothing like the band of the title, this feel bruised and full of angst for what life puts you through.
Charlotte is a dark twisted tale that feels a little bit claustrophobic as if she's locked into her own world or is it just lockdown.
The Day The Earth Caught Fire is another baggy sounding slightly dubby tune hoping for a return to normality after The Day The Earth Caught Fire, well currently it feels like a raging inferno, here's hoping we can all find a way to put out those flames.
The album closes with the shouts and chant of Last Orders a song for the end of another session and time to stagger back out into the streets once more as we all sing along to Last Orders.
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