British Sea Power - Let The Dancers Inherit The Party
I read a review of Let The Dancers... before I heard this. Normally, I'd avoid that like the plague but I read it before I knew I was going to be doing this. It wasn’t bad but suggested that BSP were treading water. On first listen, I kinda agreed but continued listening shows that assessment to be unfair. This is instantly recognisably BSP. There’s the trademark intelligent, thought provoking warmly humorous lyrics. The music manages to be both fragile and muscular, melancholic and up-lifting. So far, so familiar yet there remains the questing inventiveness that has seen BSP sing in Czech and work with brass bands. There are the hints of The Smiths and classic indie that have always informed BSP but there is more to this. Singles Bad Bohemian and Keep On Trying (Sechs Freunde) are near perfect guitar-pop. International Space Station is, if anything, even better. Praise For Whatever may be the best downbeat song BSP have release to date. The rest of the songs don’t quite hit these high standards but still match or beat pretty much anything released so far this year.This album may not reach the heights of Open Season but it is still bloody great.
8.5/10
