Fucking brilliant.
Quote:
So here’s another band from my youth giving it a go with new stuff. The Nightingales were Peel faves back in the Eighties, their idiosyncratic sound marrying scribbly guitars with leader and vocalist Robert Lloyd’s deep, matter-of-fact, wordy style. I was fortunate enough to see them at The Venue in Victoria, supporting The Passage (I think), and still remember being somewhat overawed by Lloyd’s stage persona – not to mention his glasses. They were like him. Large, coated in black and impossible to ignore. And, I’m pleased to report, the only change I can find between Nightingales of yore and today, is that they are probably even more unfashionable now than ever, and Lloyd’s voice is possibly more tuneful and rich. Other than that, I still don’t have much clue what he’s on about, his references to the everyday minutiae of life in Britain being as sharply observed and delivered as ever. In opener, ‘Born And Bred In Birmingham’, for example, we hear about “shortish price each-way doubles” “the woollyback missus” and “Quality Street on the table”. In ‘Hard Up (Buffering 87% Completed)’ “Readybrek” “Spaghetti Hoops” and Jobseekers Allowance” get a nod. And so it goes on. ‘Taking Away The Stigma Of Free School Dinners’ continues The Nightingales’ tradition of having the best song titles under the sun, also exemplified by ‘UK Randy Mom Epidemic’. Relief from the non-song narratives comes in the way of ‘Black Country’, featuring Lloyd duetting with Gina Birch from The Raincoats. The song, a Countrified foray into Lloyd’s black humour, features the superb line, “She got divorced from hope in the Black Country’. The closing song, ‘There’s A New World Just Opening For Me’, is a cover of a previously unreleased Ray Davies track and is a sombre, contemplative number that shows Lloyd’s vocal works well in a ‘real’ song, too. All in all, The Nightingales’ first new album for twenty years shows they are still as difficult, original and wonderful as ever. Mr Peel would approve.
