Gustaffson
Black & White Film
One Boat Information – DL/CD/Vinyl – BUY
Gustaffson lastly launch their lengthy awaited Album Black & White Film and its in contrast to something you’ve heard earlier than. Whereas a sure orange hued narcissist is hellbent on turning the world right into a barren dystopia, as his tsunami of negativity, disruption and despair hits our shores, Gustaffson ship the right antidote, with a tour de pressure of an album; so filled with brightness, emotion, and love, that it washes all of the darkness away.
The album is produced by Elbow’s Craig Potter and has already been given the thumbs up by bandmate Man Garvey and Six Music’s Jo Wiley, who’ve each performed tracks from it on their respective reveals.
It’s two and a half years for the reason that launch of the band’s debut single Jacaranda in the summertime of 2022, they usually have been slowly recording music and releasing tracks in between Outlander actor and lead singer Andrew Gower’s filming commitments; most not too long ago in Ellis and You.
The album’s opener is the right monitor to get you within the temper and units the scene for what’s to come back. A outstanding, swaggering poke on the overprivileged; the track has a deep rock, blowsy groove, underpinned by a thumping bassline and twinkling keys. Andrew has an extremely strong however delicate voice that in some way manages to drip the lyrics effortlessly from his lips, from baritone to falsetto and again once more. Like most of the songs on the album, Champagne Socialist is enhanced by superbly rousing gospel model backing vocals, which punctuate the slinky actions within the melodies to perfection, in a Gimme Shelter/Nice Gig in The Sky sort of means.
One of many albums excessive factors follows in Nearer, (See video under) which options esteemed actor Ben Kingsley, who offers the central spoken narrative. Completely paced, the track stops and begins as Andy’s vocals pirouette, arching greater and better earlier than splashing down in a harmonic wash; like falling backwards right into a heat bathtub. The track pulls in your feelings, in the end uplifting, because the these shimmering keys fade.
On Broadway which we coated right here, and was performed extensively on Six Music, follows. It’s theatrical with a lyrical supply that jogs my memory of Carter USM. Yeh, tough one which but it surely’s bought a ‘lie again and consider England’ vibe to it. The track flows into the center wrenching Flowers, earlier than the tempo ups for the funk grooves of Jacaranda, the track that launched us to the band three years in the past. Underground follows, a uncooked rock monitor with that rock strong bass at its core, and a descending Cream model arpeggio.
Paris in Summer time provides a little bit of Calypso to the proceedings – a vivid summer season groove that owes greater than just a bit to Paul Simon’s Graceland period output, carried by means of into the up-tempo Bonnie and Clive.
The album closes with a prial of crackers. Some Sort Of Sweden has an acoustically pushed melody and completely delivered virtually yodelling model vocals. It sweeps together with a fuzzy heat bass and piano. Kingdom is sort of a hymn, with a male voice choir model backing and the road ‘in the event you’re on a ship and surrounded by water, who cares how a lot sand you’ve got made’. It’s a deeply emotional monitor, considerate, provocative, pensive, and superbly delivered.
The album closes with crowd favorite Northern Child, a real northern anthem, with its basic line ‘there’s extra to life that south of Milton Keynes’.
Black and White Film is a really English file regardless of its blues, rock, funk, and musical influences. It’s exhausting to classify however sits beneath the identical broad dome as Badly Drawn Boy’s In The Hour of Bewilderbeast/Divine Comedy and Paul Heaton. I say broad, as a result of it’s fairly distinctive in its composition and supply, and defies any straight comparability. As a track cycle it’s a superbly performed and delivered slab of strong Britterama. Each track, a narrative, lifted from the experiences and deep recesses of Gower’s psyche. You may inform when watching these songs carried out reside what these lyrics imply to him.
~
What The Band Say:
BLACK & WHITE MOVIE’ IS PRODUCED BY ELBOW’S CRAIG POTTER & FEATURES EMMY-WINNING COMPOSER BEAR McCREARY AND LEGENDARY ACTOR SIR BEN KINGSLEY
Gustaffson – Nearer:
Directed by Andrew Gower and Nathaniel Holmes, it was filmed on the beautiful Albert Corridor in Manchester. The video options the legendary Sir Ben Kingsley, alongside an unimaginable forged from Shadow & Bone, Home of the Dragon, Outlander, and extra.
Exploring the collision of artwork and expertise, ‘Nearer’ digs into the shifting panorama of inventive collaboration within the digital age. By unseen self-tape auditions, the video captures the uncertainty that comes when face-to-face connections are changed by screens.
Dates:
9 Could – Manchester – Evening & Day – TICKETS
14th Could – London – Bush Corridor [Sold Out]
Gustaffson are on Fb & Twitter and that is their web site
That is Andrew Gower’s Fb and that is his web site: http://www.andrew-gower.co.uk/
Phrases by Nigel Carr, extra pictures by Naomi Dryden-Smith. Extra writing by Nigel on Louder Than Warfare will be present in his Creator’s archive. You’ll find Nigel on Twitter and Fb. Nigel can be the Producer of New Daybreak Fades – A Play About Pleasure Division And Manchester which excursions this October.
We have now a small favour to ask. Subscribe to Louder Than Warfare and assist hold the flame of impartial music burning. Click on the button under to see the extras you get!
