Labels: Second Nature
Review by: Martin Brown
Wow. Wow and wow again. Maybe another wow thrown in for good measure. A bacchanalia of gowned virginal mistresses screeching ‘WOW’ many times in some kind of frenzied sopranal bloodlust. WOW. It’s good…
I am a huge fan of Waxwing, have been since I first heard the demo of ‘Laboratory’ on the Casket Lottery split. This album is a curious, slight deviation in sound for the band. The first album, ‘For Madmen Only’, merged full-on, driven indie-rockage resplendent with distorted guitars, cymbal mish-mashes and soaring vocals with intricate and subtle moments of inspired beauty. The follow-up ‘One For the Ride’ toned down the rock and relied more upon the latter element of ‘For Madmen Only’. If one were to play ‘Nobody Can.’ before ‘For Madmen Only’ it would sound like their first album. Don’t ask me why they’ve done it – maybe it’s because the members are all involved in other projects to the point where Waxwing rarely play anymore, meaning they just want to have fun with the band; maybe it’s just because they were in a bad mood or something, but Waxwing have stripped down the softness of ‘One For the Ride’ in favour of urgent, driven, out and out rockage. They lose no songwriting points however. One need only listen to a song like ‘Records’ to realise the band are every bit as intricate and innovative as they were before, if not more so.
A lot of people were disappointed by the fact that they’ve gone for the jugular more on this record, as opposed to letting the twinkles do the talking. However, two of the best songs on the record feature very mellow elements, making the rock’s contrast even more powerful. ‘The Worst Kind of Liars’ perhaps doesn’t come out as well on record as the live bootleg I’ve heard of it, which involves Rocky going from angelic a capella gorgeousness screaming his beautiful face off in a matter of seconds, but it’s still an absolutely amazing track. The best song on the album however is its closer, ‘Schoolmaker’. This is possibly the best Waxwing song to date. Absolutely perfect in every way, shape and form. The lyrics are unbelievable, Rocky’s voice warbles and yells in equal moderations and the whole song is like an emotional weight that fills you up with joy and melancholia in equal measure. A masterpiece.
The thing that makes this record stand out even more than I was expecting this latest offering from one of my all time favourite bands is the fact that you can hear the band are enjoying what they’re doing so distinctively in the music. There’s a sense of fun inside the intensity, and it often makes you want to get the fuck up and dance as much as it makes you want to take in the tunes through osmosis. It’s an absolute crime that this band isn’t as active as the members’ other projects, because as good as The Blood Brothers are, and as incredible as Rocky’s solo project is, neither can touch Waxwing. As recommended as a record this year could be. Get on it.