Money – Suicide Songs

On their second LP Suicide Songs, airy indie trio Money have crafted an ethereal and melancholy diary of the life of a modern 20-something year old. I Am the Lord is a grand and breath-taking opener, evoking images of sweltering eastern landscapes with a wistful familiarity hugely contrasting the group’s humble Manchester origins. You Look Like A Sad Painting on Both Sides of the Sky is both simple and endearing, bringing a mournful and awe-inspiring highlight to the first half of the album. The stripped back title track Suicide Songs layers solemn brass over an acoustic guitar to a more upbeat effect than one would expect, but sticks to the sombre tone of the album on the whole. The influences of Keaton Henson and Bombay Bicycle Club peer through the haze in more ways than one; frontman Jamie Lee’s vocals haunt and entice with an unavoidable twee-ness about them, and the orchestral backing over which he croons sounds sweet despite its enormousness. MONEY are notably risk free in their reluctance to stray too far from the sorrowful façade they shroud themselves in, but Suicide Songs is a strong second album and an obvious stepping stone en route to creating a masterpiece.