Published on Jun 24, 2003
Aaaaah, the backlash has set in for this Scottish collaboration.
It took a bit of time (this is album number four), but the
‘coolies,’ who dove onto the concept that B&S were maybe ‘the
new Smiths,’ are now on to something else.
I doubt Stuart Murdoch, et al, really mind. Hot on the heels of
a re-issue of several EPs of theirs, and the “Legal Man” single,
comes this new CD, which I’ve already heard is ‘nah, not as good
this time…’ I actually liked it better than 1998’s
The Boy With The Arab Strap. Nothing will probably approach
the first experience I (or anyone) has had of hearing the band (for
me, it was a grimy compilation tape from England, with bits of the
Dog On Wheels EP), but
Fold… actually surprised me, especially after hearing
so many ‘maybes’ about it.
For starters, Stuart Murdoch relinquishes a bit of the vocal
duties this time. Sharing the microphone and pen with Isobel
Campbell, Sarah Martin, Chris Geddes, and Stevie Jackson. The femme
vocals, in particular, though they have been done in the past, were
quite impressive, and opened up each song, making the emotions in
the lyrics all the more there.
Dunno why that is, but I guess it’s just a long way of saying
that the variety helped. Stuart David played on much of this CD,
but left shortly thereafter, and is now focusing his attention on
his other band, Looper. Recorded over the course of fourteen
months, this breathes a bit more. It feels more spacious, thought
out and planned, than, say,
Tigermilk, which was recorded and mixed in a matter of days.
There are also quite a number of ‘guest musicians.’ Session
players, rather than the band grabbing acquaintances of theirs to
help.
A plaintive, moody, record, but what did you really expect?
Techno? Grindcore? Frat-core ready power-pap-punk? This probably
won’t surprise the quiet, studious mass of die-hards, or cause a
melee at the next B&S-inspired poetry reading, but it doesn’t
sound like a band treading water either. I just saw a photo of the
up-until-recently-never-interviewed Stuart Murdoch in
Time magazine. I deeply respect this band. Instead of making
themselves shift to fit the times, they’re doing quite the
opposite.