Why stew in your own juices when you can invite the whole weary world to stew in them also? Liam’s previous band, The Havenots has clearly not left the sweetest
of tastes in his mouth even though the Leicester band’s sophomore release cooked
up the dreamiest of whisper-soft Americana and the most heartbreaking boy-girl
harmonies in 2005. It was like Joy Zipper but with rollerblades instead of razorblades;
sun kissed sugar melodies blowing around in the surly pouting ether of desperate
love. And little has changed really. Sour-puss, Sophie Marshall may have moved
on but not so the gentle, purring profanity of numbers like, ‘I’m Just Fucked
Without You’ and the uplifting desolation of ‘Radio Verona’. It’s a beautiful
album, creaking with turn-of-the-century Americana, intelligent wordplay and
evoking the sad, exhausted thrill of the circus when the last of the punters
has crawled home, the clowns have climbed into their trailers and the Fat Lady
reflects on her previous incarnation as homecoming queen.
Liam’s lulling, two-ply vocals may struggle to cut through the visceral aspirations
of the more boisterous, full-throttle numbers like ‘Paradise Beach’ but on songs
like ‘Ribbons and Shreds’ they drip like honey
from a spoon against the tenderest of acoustic backings.
If the devil has all the good music then at least one angel stands amongst
them. File alongside Iain Archer, Grant Lee Phillips and Elliot Smith.