Album Review: Desperate Journalist - "Maximum Sorrow"

 

One of those bands where you do find yourself questioning why they're not a bit bigger than they are, Desperate Journalist have been mainstays on the indie scene for close to a decade now and their heady brew of post-punk, goth and shoegazing has led to three very good albums with the band improving release upon release. It's fair to say that we've been quite eagerly awaiting album number four since it was announced a few months ago and now it's here.

It starts with the haunting skeletal keyboard lament of Formaldehyde which actually reminds me of Sinead O'Connor (in a good way) before swirling Cocteau Twins-esque lead-off single Fault kicks things into gear in good style. Indeed, there's plenty of songs here which show Desperate Journalist are still as good at the whole moody epics that they've made a name for such as the sprawling six minute Armageddon, the sinister Utopia and the spiky Fine In The Family. However, this is clearly a band who are growing and throwing a few curveballs into the mix - Personality Girlfriend has a rolling glam style drumbeat powering it along (think the Fall's Glam Racket or Carter's Glam Rock Cops) while the edgy six minute Everything You Wanted actually reminds me of Simple Minds' early (ie pre-stadium rock) stuff and I mean that in a good way I promise! The spiteful Poison Pen even sees them dipping their toes into political waters with some well aimed invective against holier-than-thou hate-spreaders.

It's to Desperate Journalist's immense credit that four albums into their career they're still putting out albums which sound fresh and challenging rather than sinking into the rut of just phoning it in. Maximum Sorrow is a good effort which is more than deserving of your attention especially if you're still unaware of this rather exceptional band yet.

Bandcamp

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Album Review: Diablofurs - "Neon Satellites"

Image
  Diablofurs have previously shared a split release with the very under-rated Deadcuts (RIP) and feature at least one ex-member of semi-legendary "we were the Manics before the Manics" Coventry indie-punks Birdland so the initial omens for this release were pretty promising. Put any thoughts of the scuzzier end of early '90s alternative music out of your mind though because on this evidence, Diablofurs appear to have set their controls for a good decade earlier with a full on power-pop/new wave sound. The opening duo of Chase The Beat  and Everybody's Dreamin'  come on like Parallel Lines  era Blondie being fronted by Gary Numan and it's not an unpleasant sound at all. The album continues on the early '80s vein throughout with the title track coming on like Tubeway Army going pop while the epic Obsession/Meteors  is probably the closest thing stylistically to Birdland on here but the bubbling synths certainly mark it as being a new evolved version of the s
Read more

Album Review: Silver Sun - "Switzerland"

Image
  Ah the memories. Silver Sun were the great should've-been band of the mid-'90s. Taking the '70s Cheap Trick style power-pop formula and giving it a liberal dose of Britrock meatiness, they should have in an ideal world coasted to Top 20 stardom in the wake of the Wildhearts and Terrorvision, both of whom they definitely owed a sly debt in their sound to (although with their own spin on the formula obviously). Instead, they were lumped in with Britpop whose retro footy shirt clad laddishness never really suited them, and when that ship went down in 1998 or so they quickly found themselves sunk. They never officially split up though and frontman James Broad has continued to put releases out under the Silver Sun name with various collaborators old and new in the 20 years since with Switzerland  being their sixth album no less. It kicks off in fine style too with Earth Girls Are Easy  (a tribute to the cornball '80s musical film of the same name) sounding like some great
Read more

The Nite Songs Singles Bar - October 2020

Image
  Ahh welcome back to the Nite Songs Singles Bar dear reader. Take a chair, pull up a glass and let's see what we've got on the menu here for October... Well, it looks like the big hitters are out in force this month as  The Damned of all people have a new EP out in the form of The Rockfield Files (🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑). Having been a bit disappointed by their Evil Spirits album a couple of years back, I was a little bit apprehensive going into this one but it's actually decent enough with opening track Keep 'Em Alive  sounding like a punked up Pink Floyd of all things (or like an out-take from the excellent Strawberries  album which was also recorded at the titular studio back in the early '80s). Manipulator  meanwhile is a faster number with an agreeable woah-oh-oh  hook line and some strong vocals from Dave Vanian while Spider & The Fly  starts off with a sinister piano-led intro harking back to the band's mid-'80s goth phase before going into a driving garage
Read more