Like Ringo. Ringo was never a flashy drummer, and he was frankly not capable of the flashy stuff. But he never needed more than what he could do well. He was a human metronome, and his pace and timing were impeccable. And everything he chose to do was the perfect choice, unquestionable in its rightness for the song at hand.
These guys are kinda like Ringo. They either don't have much instrumental skill or they deliberately play minimalist when they could do more. Not important really, they have built the perfect vehicle for their skill set.
This, their third, is a fine record indeed.There's real human love in these chilly, sometimes distant songs. There are also a few tempos above slow, which is very nice indeed. Dangerous kicks the record off with a nice dance groove and a duet vocal testimony to the risks of love. Say Something Loving is maybe the best lyrical capture of insecure love, and the Tracy Thorn-like vocal shows how Romy Madley Croft has grown as a singer. Lips and A Violent Noise are both pretty seriously chill, but in a good way, as this band has always done. Simple guitar figure, strong bass line, layers of synths to flesh things out, dramatic slow development of the song. Performance features another gifted vocal from Madley Croft. And oh! the romance of Brave For You, with another skeletal frame embellished to a sheen. On Hold has a driving rhythm, I Dare You another throbbing pulse, and Test Me is a spacey dirge. All three feature slowly developed ideas on top of simple instrumental motifs.
The thing is, if you asked me if I was into minimalism in my music I'm sure I wouldn't answer as enthusiastically as I love this band. They are gifted songwriters, they have two compelling singers, and have been able to develop their ideas over three excellent records. All three are solid, this is the new one. Go for it.
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