2020

If I ever return to doing yearly music awards (which I might, they are good fun), I think I might name one after this album. It would be called The Richard Dawson Award for the Album That Actually Made Me Care About Lyrics. Or something like that.

It's well documented at this point that I don't really care about lyrics in my music. I care about vocals, and the voice as an instrument, and the choice of words can obviously make or break a melody, depending on whether the words lock in with the shape of the notes, but the actual content? Don't know, don't care. I don't even know what the vast majority of my favourite songs are about; nor do I have any intention to learn.

But this album doesn't let you ignore its lyrics - in part it's due to Dawson's full frontal vocal display, but it's also the frequent usage of utterly mad lines which you just can't let fly by. I'll confess, it took until my third listen to really notice the lyrics, but the allusions to Galashiels and Lionel Messi and raising money for the British Red Cross was just too amusing for me to ignore. It probably helps considering my life situation right now. It's been a year since I last lived in Britain, and I'm beginning to miss it a lot. Dawson is from the northeast, an area I have a lot of love for, and though this record tells tales of sadness and struggle and frustration, what's endearing about it is the very English spirit to it all - the unity in having a rubbish time and finding a way to enjoy it anyway. I live in a country of saccharine optimism - New Zealand has most of its roots British culture, both England and Scotland, but instead of embracing the negatives, most people here choose to pretend they don't exist. The first time I really sat down with this album and its lyrics I got these incredibly strong feelings of homesickness - for a place that isn't my home. There's so much soul and heart here, to the point where it's made me break my own rules on talking about lyrical content in reviews.

Oh damn, I should probably talk about the music. That's what I normally do, right? Well, it's not as if this is an album that relies on its lyricism to stand up - far from it. Dawson has an incredible range of influences, but the strongest ones here to me are fellow Tynesiders Everything Everything, if you could imagine them playing sludgy art rock with strong Comus influences. He isn't afraid to veer into serious prog rock at times here, and the off-kilter avant-folk that characterised his early work is always a part of the musical palette, especially the fingerpicked guitar. The hooks here are excellent too, somehow managing to fit insanely catchy melodies into these bizarre and angular chord progressions. Some parts of it are a touch too avant for my tastes, but there are enough quality melodies here to bridge the gaps nicely.

7.5 (5th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

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