Labels: Burning Heart
Review by: Ian Cavell
Everything about this release is perfect. Aesthetically sublime, the fold out cover, with its political discourse and suggestions for further reading, hints at something special. And maybe special isn’t the right word. After listening to the 11 wonderful songs innumerable times and even managing to enjoy the recent London show despite the obvious obstacles in obtaining that pleasure (all of which can be attributed to the Astoria in some way or another) it seems like any review I could write just wouldn’t do this record justice.
I mean, how do you go about summarising a wealth of influences, from jazz to rock n’roll, from punk-rock to pop songs. You could write a paragraph on each song and that’s before you even get to the politics. Whether its feminism (Breakout 2001), consumer culture (Up For Sale) or a call for change (A New Morning, Changing Weather), the lyrics are there and are just a vital part of this record as the music. I could single out songs, sure I’ ve got my favourates but it just doesn’t seem right to do that with this album. Take it all in: the music, the politics and appreciate a radical political band that’s actually fun to dance to.