On the surface, the prospect of another dour Scottish band to listen to is not exactly the most enticing, with the often brilliant legacy of Arab Strap and Malcolm Middleton, and the not so brilliant but inexplicably celebrated Glasvegas. But there is a lot more to My Latest Novel than that.
Deaths and Entrances is their second album, a bleak and sweeping record that should be saved for the dark nights. But rather than being needlessly depressing, there is plenty to be uplifted by on this album.
The songs on this album are mini-compositions cropped into the length of pop songs. They are gloomy in tone throughout, with just some small rays of sunshine poking through once in a while. There is optimism in the vocals during ‘Lacklustre,’ which is actually a searing, dramatic construction. If you take the work of Editors, and throw in some strings and a bit of range and this is what you get.
‘I Declare A Ceasefire’ opens like an early Interpol song, very stripped down, but builds into a crashing, indie-rock anthem, a potential set-closer for any festival slots they might be playing this summer. Throughout this record different styles are employed, a multitude of layered vocal performances and interactions and an orchestra’s worth of instruments given a run out. It’s often beautiful in ways that it’s hard to describe; it’s as much a classical performance on this album as it a pop experience.
My Latest Novel are the sum of their parts, and you get the impression that each song takes aeons to construct, as they sound so complete in their grandiosity. ‘Argument Against The Man’ is the gloom-rock ‘Paranoid Android,’ hopping through many stages of ominous drums into searing synths. This leads into sister track ‘Man Against The Argument’ which is an instrumental aggressive retort only ninety seconds in length.
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‘If The Accident Will’ is more ambient than anything else on the album, sucker-punched by prominent vocals in a Scottish drawl that supports those of us that like to hear people sing in their native voices. It’s another song that turns from intimate into epic and back to intimate without you even realising it, sounding like a far more fascinating version of Doves.
Deaths and Entrances is the sound of a collective of musicians willing to experiment with their sound and produce something of variety. If you get past the initial feelings that you’re about to be bored by gloom, then you’re in for a treat. This album was far more than I expected it to be, and should be seeking out plaudits from some of the more art-rock friendly magazines at the end of the year. Definitely a page turner.
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