The London five piece waited only 16months to get their follow up to ‘The Album Paranoia’ released. When you’re hot, you’re hot! ‘Modern English Decoration’ comes out amidst so many hazy garage-psyche albums. What chance do they have of getting their heads above the rest?
The combination of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson vocals and vulnerable psyche-guitars on opener ‘Mimi Pretend’ and title track ‘Modern English Decoration’ gives them every chance. The fragility of their sublime playing is destined to take listeners along with them.
The ability they have to weave in and out of each other’s playing is laudable. However, as ever with bands of this ilk, it becomes a bit one paced. There is an injection of fire on ‘Ziggy’ and ‘Everything, All of the Time’ but, there’s an overarching sense of ‘does this matter’. With their talent, of course it does.
On ‘Saw A Habit Forming’ and ‘Victorian Acid’, there are signs that they infiltrate more people’s consciousness. The former is entrenched with highly emotive production and ‘Victorian Acid’, takes MVB’s ‘Loveless’ style and, tentatively, takes it towards a guitar hook territory.
‘Modern English Decoration’ is going to grace to a lot of top 10 album polls come the end of the year, no question. What it won’t do, is challenge any top 10 albums of the decade and this is a band who, most certainly can.