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Reverend & the Makers - 'Silence Is Talking'

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Fraser McAlpine | 11:46 UK time, Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Reverend & the MakersOh weird. In the same week the 'comeback' single from the Twang hits the shelves, here's another musical return, with a song that sounds exactly like I always hoped the Twang would from reading the NME's frothy up-biggery, even though they never actually did.

They still don't, in case you're wondering.*

Meanwhile the RevMakers, a group which has had a similarly rough ride from the music press, a group which also emphasises streetwise feeling over bookwise reading, and a group which likes to mix its gritty social commentary with a bit of a dance, is in severe danger of being entirely eclipsed by the political activities of Jon 'The Reverend' McClure, which does beg the question...can't the Twang have the song and the Rev do the politics? That would be a bit fairer.

(. Nice holiday, your worship?)

What I want from a guttersnipe ravemonkey sort of band is a bassline so rubbery that you could do trampoline displays with it, lots of percussion, lyrics which are dim but witty, maybe a nod to some funk classic or other (in this case it's the horns from 'Low Rider' by War. Ask your superfly pimp-daddy), some nursery-rhyme finger-pointing in the verses and a big blissed-out chorus which is basically the verse with a different melody, but good.

Oh and it has to sound a bit lively, a bit fiery, a bit tasty, and it has to swagger like it is entitled to the entire world. And ideally it should half-convice the listener that actually, it IS entitled, maybe not to the world, but certainly most of the Netherlands and a hillside view of Luxembourg.

This is pretty much that sort of a song. I like it.

Four starsDownload: Out now
CD Released: July 13th

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(Fraser McAlpine)

* Their new single, 'Barney Rubble', is just like all the other Twang singles, despite a samba backbeat, not unlike that of 'Fairground' by Simply Red. It's basically OK, but not as groovy or anthemic as the band likes to pretend it is. This is partly the NME's fault for raising expectations, but even now, months after the hype bubble has burst, they're still basically just an OK sort of a band. Hey-ho...

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