After their band split in 1984, Pete Dale and Guy Snook lost contact for many years. In 2008 they met again and decided to write music together once more. 'Strange Days' is the fruits of their promise.
After years of marriage, children and work 'Strange Days' occasionally feels like a purely comfortable listen; it’s reassuring and cheering like the first cup of tea of the day. However, the thrill of making music again pervades throughout the record, as does the attention to detail in almost every aspect. It feels too safe to completely change your life but at the same time you have to admire the skill and technical ability on offer here.
Despite Dale and Snook being the only band members, every song is a full scale production. As the album opens with tracked acoustic guitars and a string section it becomes obvious that this is so much more than a part time hobby. While the lyrical pleas to “trash the TV, CDs and radios, IPods and stereos” in order to “find the silence again” may sound like a Dad’s desperate attempt to encourage the family to spend a relaxing Sunday together, the song soars with a majestic Elbow-like flourish. The title track performs a similar trick by complaining about static motorway traffic that makes “Tuesday feel like Sunday” but is propelled by a synthesiser riff reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s On The Run. When the audacious Beach Boys backing vocals arrive it’s near impossible not to smile, even if it makes you feel a little dirty.
While the constant shifts in style from one track to the next are all handled with impeccable craft and attention to detail, it does sometimes feel like the songwriters are too busy showing off rather than finding their true voices. The worst offender here is The Girl Who Invented Goodbye, a Bond theme that veers dangerously close to parody with its reverb guitar, stabbed string chords and lyrics concerning a girl who will “make you want to die”. However, on the whole, the journey through pop history remains enjoyable, especially the slice of Ray Davies storytelling The Last Great Silent Romeo. With Baroque piano and the image of a lonely bachelor looking through old photographs, this could easily sit at home on Something Else By The Kinks.
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While the cynical could bemoan a distinct lack of individuality in their first release, there is just enough spark and wonder to carry it off. Sometimes tracks head into tribute band territory but the enthusiasm injected into every single note is infectious. This is the sound of two men capturing the essence of the music they love. Hopefully now they’ve reclaimed it they can push their song writing into more unique directions. The quality on offer here certainly suggests their next release could be worth paying attention to, unfortunately at this moment in time, Strange Days does little more than remind you of the original recordings it owes such a heavy debt to.
Hear Strange Days at Bandcamp
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