A GROUNDING IN NUMBERS

For myself listening to it for the best part of a year now I must say, it's a definite grower, not too sure initially, certainly some great bits that get greater with repeated listening, but then some bits you're not sure of, even after a few listens.

After seeing the band perform the majority of the album live earlier in 2011, I must say it did change my mind regarding a couple of songs I was never sure of. Perhaps, seeing them performed live made more sense, but certainly the final two tracks "5533" and "All Over The Place" definitely made more sense to me after seeing them performed live.

Of the other tracks, I have to say, that "Highly Strung", "Snake Oil" and "Mr Sands" are as good as anything they have done since their heyday. "Snake Oil" contains the lyric of the album "...anal retention, to an astounding degree...", and the straight-ahead five-bar blues riff of the "chorus" to "Highly Strung" is unusual for a VdGG but definitely works.

Perhaps a couple of tracks don't work so well, "Red Baron" and "Splink" spring to mind here, but certainly the other tracks are definitely worth a listen; the unusual time signatures of "Mathematics" for example seems jarring, but impresses with repeated listens.

So, as I said, it won't convert you, but if you're a wavering VdGG fan then definitely seek this album out, I think it is the most consistent of the recent trio of releases.

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