After a million or so plays on my MP3 player (okay, slight exaggeration.but only slight) of
Honeymoon Suite's recent double CD Best Of, I was convinced the band's glory days were behind them. I didn't really expect '
Clifton Hill' to measure up.
Well, it does and it doesn't.
Let's go back a moment. Even in the early days, HMS sounded grown up, mature, like they'd been round the block a few times. Like they'd done things we couldn't, seen things we hadn't, knew things we didn't.
Into this they mixed memorable melodies and pop inflected hooks.
It was a powerful and compelling combination.
The title of this new album,
'Clifton Hill' is taken from the town in which the band was formed, back in 1983. A huge signpost, you might think, on the road of reinvention.
Must be a band returning to its roots, looking to regain that zest, that verve, that unadulterated energy that fuelled albums like
'Monsters Under The Bed' and
'Racing After Midnight'.
The truth is of course, you can't go back. Time moves on and so do we.
Consequently, '
Clifton Hill' is an often brilliant - as befits the band's pedigree - but ultimately unsatisfying album.
Opener, '
She Ain't Alright' is a peach. An HMS defining poprock track, full of urgency, purpose and singing guitars, slowing to a sighing hook. The Beatle-esque
'Tired Of Waiting On You' is another outstanding track, continuing the band's fascination with the Fab Four, though this is much heavier than the opener.
Yet tracks like
'The House' and '
Sunday Morning' sound experimental, like some of the unreleased stuff aired on the
'Feel It Again' Anthology. I like the fact they're doing that, but these tracks will confound the casual listener, or even the fan who's expecting some kind of retrofest.
Elsewhere the album is a mixed bag of delights and disappointments.
There are moments when
'Ordinary' reaches upwards, seeking greatness. But it never gets high enough for long enough to really count.
Likewise '
Down 2 Bizness' and '
Why Should I'. Both light up the album with magical melodic moments, but too often the magic wears off before the tracks are over. Like they lost their nerve part way through.
Frustrating. Then again, maybe we're just expecting too much.
Despite the equivocation, what we can say without doubt is this : it's great to have HMS back.
Long live all who sail on her.
Written by
Brian Monday, October 20, 2008
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