Reviews roundup – Henry Priestman vs. Happyness vs. Bram Stoker

Reviews roundup – Henry Priestman vs. Happyness vs. Bram Stoker

HENRY PRIESTMAN
The Last Mad Surge Of Youth
Proper

I’m old, so not only do I remember The Christians (the band, not the religious sect), but I also have a great deal of sympathy for middle aged men feeling middle aged. So, this new solo album from erstwhile Christian (band not sect), Henry Priestman ties in nicely with the noises I make sitting down and getting up.

His 2009 solo album saw Radio 2’s Johnnie Walker calling it “music for grumpy old men”, and although this one is broadly similar, it’s actually more sad than angry. Which is about right, because although my rage is never far fromthe surface, it’s the imminent arrival of death that causes the sleepless nights.

He’s got some famous friends along to help him out including Katriona Gilmore and Graham Gouldman, but it’s really all about the songs. And they’re good ones, with ‘At The End Of The Day’, a song in memory of his mother, a stone wall classic that should be compulsory listening, and one that my auld Irish mammy would have loved.

He touches on folk, country and pop, with the countrified ‘I Cried Today’ the best song George Jones never recorded. It’s a great album, and even those not of a certain age will find lots to enjoy and reflect on.

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HAPPYNESS
EP
Weird Smiling

Oh, Christ! Young people. Even worse, happy young people. If only they knew. At least I had the decency to be a speed fuelled, violent, drunken young man. I never liked happy people, and when a bunch of youngsters put out an EP of summery, lo-fi, indie pop, it really makes my hackles rise.

However, I am led to believe that the young people like this sort of thing. Well, the young people I never met. Who were all poor white trash. This is straight out of So-Cal (ooh!) via Sarf London, and if a mix of pop grunge and slacker anthems is the sort of thing you listen to on your knuting gap year, then this may well suit you very well.

Or you could get a bloody job and start doing something worthwhile with your lives. Best of the four tracks is the psych-ish sounds of ‘Lascascades’.

BRAM STOKER
Cold Reading
Sunn Creative

Blimey! I was still at primary school when Bram Stoker split up. 1972, that was, and by then they’d played the underground scene, recorded an album with the splendid name of “Heavy Rock Spectacular” and had some young up and comers call Queen open for them. Dunno what happened to them, though.

But here we are, a thousand years later, and they’re back! Well Tony Bronsdon on Hammond organ and guitarist Tony Lowe are back. And it’s like they never went away. They still sound a bit like early ELP. Which is A Good Thing. They’re still throwing the kitchen sink into their progtastic sound. And they’ve even got a tune called ‘Climbing The Gyroscope’, which is the best prog title I’ve heard in ages.

Just in case you missed them first time around (and you did), they’ve re-recorded a couple of oldies in the shape of ‘Fast Decay’ and ‘Fingal’s Cave’, and it says a lot for the new tunes that you can’t see the join. If you’re looking for a marker, then imagine Genesis had been formed by the Artful Doger and his mates, rather than a bunch of posh boys. There’s grit in them grooves. A stunner of an album, and one of the best prog records you’ll hear all year.

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