Liverpool 5-piece CRANEBUILDERS have been doing their thing for quite a while now. The current line-up was glued together in 2000 with a Peel session notched up as far back as August 2002.
Having spent a not inconsiderable amount of time being touted as “Britain’s best unsigned band” (courtesy of Elbow’s Guy Garvey), one could be forgiven for also quoting Ian McCulloch at them, namely “Where the hell have you been?”
Now kennelled with Skinny Dog Records (Garvey again), the band have finally unleashed their debut opus, ‘Sometimes You Hear Through Someone Else’. Herein may lie some clues as to the delay in its release as these slow-burning pieces of (mostly) melodic maudlin sound as if they’ve been patiently and lovingly crafted over a long period of time with scant regard for the ensuing changing tastes of the music industry and the record-buying public that have arisen over the past three years.
Taking their ingredients from the musical recipes of The Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, Tindersticks, Smog, Elbow, Howe Gelb and others the band simmer in a gentle stew of mini melodramas that often burst with tempting flavours. Never quite managing to move entirely free of their influences for the album’s duration there is more than enough evidence to suggest a band that, given time, will forge something consistently anew and uniquely engaging.
Proceedings start favourably with ‘Trouble is..’ despite the opening line of the song reminding me worryingly of Robbie Williams’ ‘Angels’! Housing the album’s title the song builds from a gentle strum of guitar to become a restrained and sauntering epic with some of the scorched emotion of Roy Orbison’s music providing a welcome incursion. ‘New Captain’ fails to match the drama and does little more than tick over nicely. Comparatively speaking the ode to agoraphobia ‘Public Space’ positively bounces along and reminds me of Electric Soft Parade.
‘Fallen Arches’ is a gem, blurring the brooding melancholy of Giant Sand with the distorted sonics of Elbow and creating something quite beautiful in its pretty/ugly arrangements. The piano led Nick Cave/Tindersticks styled break-up duet ‘Radio’ displays one of CRANEBUILDERS trump cards, the natural vocal companionship of lead singer Tommy Roberts and keyboardist Helen Turner which is used surprisingly sparingly on the album despite its obvious strengths. Less is more, undoubtedly. The VU inspired ‘So What Could I Do’ strays more openly into indie pop territory and sounds to me like a strong contender for a single. ‘Vacuum Cleaner’ fails to engage.
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‘My Little Misery’ gives Helen Turner a solo vocal outing. Musically I’m in mind of the first This Mortal Coil album updated by My Bloody Valentine with a touch of Portishead in the vocals: which is another way of saying I like it. ‘She Can’t Find The Words’ is a diamond that sparkles with the ambition of the band and its innate ability to match that ambition: a restrained epic that dips and soars with genuine grace, drama and emotion. The Lou Reed meets The Buzzcocks chopping guitar of ‘Soap Opera Rant’ displays yet another side of the band’s gifted abilities.
‘Advanced Directive’ begins the album’s wind-down, its funereal pace hinting at the majesty of Echo and The Bunnymen’s ‘Ocean Rain’ (check out the album covers similarity to 'Heaven Up Here') while acoustic closer ‘Close Your Eyes’ sings longingly of “what the moonlight can do” but hides a darker meaning in its title.
Definitely a grower ‘Sometimes You Hear Through Someone Else’ reveals its sections of greatness slowly and without forcing the issue. There are moments of real splendour within and plenty of scope for forging new directions as well as refining others.
Ultimately it’s the ambition and the level of individualism to which CRANEBUILDERS seem to be aiming in sound and spirit that really impresses and provokes.
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