Reverend & The Makers – The Death Of A King (Cooking
Vinyl)
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| Reverend & The Makers - The Death Of A King |
Release Date: 22nd September 2017
Despite brief dalliances with
fame and the top of the musical tree, Sheffield collective Reverend and the
Makers have always seemed to be playing second fiddle to other leading lights
from the Steel City over the years. Now, in 2017, with their new album ‘The Death
Of A King’ the time feels right for them to take centre stage…the thing is,
they don’t really give a shit about any of that and that might just be the
secret. ‘Miss Haversham’ gets things going with a disorientating use of stereo
and layered instrumentation giving way to a wild west stomp and some menacing
guitar work that is the stuff of chain gangs. Crucially, a theme is set here
as, like 11 of the 12 tracks on this album, this opener doesn’t exceed three
minutes, showing that the band mean business with no time for wasting as the
steady, relentless crescendo builds, ominously.
‘Auld Reekie Blues’ starts with a
forlorn piano ballad but before long the party has started and the band are
stirring up a 60s inspired party with big, Phil Spector-ish arrangements and a
real sense of ambition. On ‘Bang Seray’, the band’s recent travels in Asia come
to the fore with the instrumentation blending the Western timbre with a more
Oriental vibe to profound effect – a brave move at just three tracks in,
especially as it’s completely instrumental and features a tinny synth solo half
way through. ‘Boomerang’ maintains the chilled out vibe and crunchy beats but
retains to a more traditional song format albeit with frontman John McClure
taking the role of louche lounge singer atop the smoky pianos and snake hipped
rhythm.
The real genius of this album is
the range of styles, influences and instrumentation that the band have blended
in to one seamless album of work. ‘Too Tough To Die’, a recent single, is more
a traditional Reverend & The Makers track full of swaggering guitars and
primal beats giving McClure the room to be at his preachy, rousing best. As if
to make the most of previous point, ‘Carlene’ is a pub-piano romp that is part
McCartney and part musical theatre which only lasts a minute before we get to ‘Monkey
See, Monkey Do’. This mid-point track has a darker vibe and returns to the
storytelling theme that Sheffield bands like Reverend & The Makers, Pulp
and the Arctic Monkeys (not to mention Hawley) seem to be so adept at setting
to music.
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| Reverend & The Makers - They've got balls |
There’s a cinematic feel to the
dramatic sashay of ‘Black Cat’ which should have a sepia tone video to
accompany it while ‘Autumn Leaves’ has a granite slab of a riff which moves
with all the grace of the Titanic but is far less likely to be stopped by a paltry
ice-berg. ‘Time Machine’ is probably the weak point of the album with a fairly
forgettable melody but it still fits in with the overall piece before the last
single, ‘Juliet Knows’, floats up like a troubadour lazily strumming guitar on
a river boat in the balmy heat giving Joe Carnall a go at the vocal duties.
This last song really sums up the collaborative and collective effort that is
in evidence throughout the entirety of ‘The Death Of A King’.
Now, you remember way back when
at the start of this review I said most of the tracks were punch and to the
point, well there’s one final track that bucks that trend in the shape of ‘Black
Flowers’. Coming in at just over nine minutes, this closing track is a
cinematic masterpiece with sultry French strings and breathy vocals doing a
better job of a Bond theme than most of the efforts from the last 5 films. Elements
of St Etienne and Ertha Kitt purr throughout opening few minutes and the cool
of Audrey Hepburn oozes out of every note. But there’s a darker, more forlorn
underbelly to this song that sees mascara stained tears roll singularly down an
alabaster cheek before being covered with Jackie O glasses. Then, at around the
three minutes, a beat kicks in and suddenly there is urgency, there is a sense
of purpose and the top is down on the car as the sadness is left in the past
with only hope and expectation stretched out on the highway as far as the eye
can see. After a period of silence, the song then re-emerges in a squall of
noise before a pure acoustic melody and some dreamy vocals appear to signal the
end of this particular journey.
What strikes me most about this album
is that it seems by McClure taking a less forthright role in vocal proceedings,
the band have been given space, time and air in which to grow in something far,
far greater than the sum of its parts. ‘The Death Of A King’ it may be but the
birth of a Kingdom (or democratic republic, more likely) is certainly upon us.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/ReverendAndTheMakers/
Live Dates:
29th September – Looe Music Festival, Looe
14th October – The Garage, Glasgow
25th October – Electric Ballroom, London
27th October – O2 Academy, Sheffield
4th November – Academy, Manchester