Chris Gentlemens Hairdresser and Railway Book Shop,
LightyearYou know what, I never expected it to be like this. After releasing an album like Call of the Weasel Clan, an album that I still rate amongst the best albums I've got in recent times I really didn't expect Lightyear to follow it up with this. Obviously I didn't want a Recall of the Weasel Clan (see what I did there?) but the absurdly-monikered Chris Gentlemens Hairdresser and Railway Bookshop is, musically, very distant from Call...but it's still utterly brilliant.
Lightyear deal with issues on this album that they never really acknowledged on their debut. That's why this album feels like a definite reaction to the environment that Lightyear live in - not the one that we live in, this is their perspective on the world they see. 'Twat Out Of Hell' has a schizophrenic lyric that veers from the political to a desire to do lots of acid. It's not like Lightyear are in the Anti-Flag School Of Anarchy And General Political Banter but they are providing a voice of dissent which is very definitely personalised. I mean, could any other band get away with "The last thing we need is an unelected wazzock of a president who thinks humans and fish can co-exist peacefully"? For a summary of the entire album just look at 'Data's Double Chin' and you'll have Lightyear in a nutshell. Of course it's impossible to pigeonhole a band in this way, but bear with me, ok? Opening with a fast punk rock guitar line complete with a hilarious backing vocal courtesy of Neil and equally funny response from Bars it suddenly drops into a funky bass-trumpet riff which acts as the conduit for Chas' rapping. Yes, rapping. On first listen it's just weird, but it really does work. The blatantly English enunciations add an extra dimension to an already mad song and demonstrate Lightyear's desire to just let their creative talents flow, before changing pace yet again with a return to a more recognisable horn-led sound. All in 2.55. Magic.
As I said earlier, this isn't a retread of familiar ska-core territory. In fact you'll be hard pushed to find anything that would sit perfectly flush with Call..., but that's not to say that Lightyear have left their roots behind. Far from it - what they appear to have done is just take what they know and multiply it by a factor of 'imagination'. You can just imagine the creative process, with so many contributors to the lyrics and guests (members of 5K, C*E and Ad7 all make appearances, as well as being able to be abbreviated well) throwing their lot in. 'Trumpet Trousers' features some scratching over a sample and a simple acoustic guitar riff, all held together by Chas' distinctive voice and a quite fantastic vocal performance featuring the classic line "Chin up Chas at least you're not the drummer from Busted". The surprsing thing is that not once does it feel hackneyed or cynical - no "lets get some DJ in so we can corner the Linkin Park fans" bullshit. Just a band experimenting with what they can do and pulling it off quite successfully.
I'm sure that the image I've depicted is of a Spinal Tap "Hope you like our new direction" with some horns. Far from it. On 'Nuff Cuts', 'That's The Way It Goes' and 'Whispering Ron vs Maz' the band press the button marked "Let's Go" and throw in some of that blistering punk rock that just rocks like a mother. Maybe it's the Cotton Weary influence, but there's not much 'chunky power chords with horns', and the presence of the horns is used to highlight various vocal lines and other musical facets. It's clear that Lightyear have learnt many new tricks and don't want to wear the old ones out; instead choosing to show off a bit. And well they deserve to, because so many bands play it safe with whatever kind of music but here LY have shown that they have definitely progressed as musicians, lyricists and as a band as a whole. The overall result is mighty.
We're also treated to a spoken-word section on '200 Kebab Shops', which is astonishingly touching. It's almost as if Chas is apologising for being under strain while on tour (a topic touched upon earlier in 'Twat Out Of Hell'), which is totally unnecessary simply because Lightyear give their all that it becomes a pleasure to listen to each new twist and turn on the album. I might sound like some HHN sycophant but the fact is, that with Lightyear and Ye Wiles (and I haven't even mentioned Capdown) they have the two most promising bands in the UK right now.
Ben
