1 Hi, Jane
2 Things Ain't What They Used To Be3 End Of The World
4 Keep Your Head High
5 Blues About The Size Of Someone Else's Heart
6 Kiss Me Too
7 39 Winks
8 It's The Road
9 Why The Martians Are Gone
10 All The Love That Was Left
Stanley Brinks: main voice, guitar (right)
Dave Tattersall: guitar (left)
Franic Rozycki: bass guitar
Jonny Helm: drums
All songs by Stanley Brinks.
Recorded and mixed by Kemo in Berlin in early June 2008.
Released on vinyl by Ciao Ketchup Recordings late 2009/early 2010.
I've no idea what caused the brothers in Herman Dune to split up but one thing is clear - Andre got the WP's in the divorce. Renaming himself Stanley Brinks, Andre Herman Dune has spent the last few years in an ultra prolific existence, often with The Wave Pictures in tow. Just checking today I've noticed he put another two albums out last month on the same day. Many of these records don't get further than a cdr but occasionally a benevolent label will put something out on wax and that's the case for this effort with our heroes.
ReplyDeleteRecorded in 2008, but seemingly in the can for over a year before release, this is an excellent supplement for the Wave Pictures fan who wants more. The boys are in evidence singing good gang backing vocals (with Franic doing an oddly believable alien impression on LP standout Why The Martians Are Gone) and Tattersall getting full reign to bust his chops (albeit in the left channel only) over the tunes. As for the tunes themselves this is the strongest of the Brinks albums I've heard. My natural inclination sways more towards the sweetness of Yaya Herman Dune's childlike simplicity. Andre is a bitterer pill but when he's on song he can be very special - opener Hi Jane is probably worth your dollars by itself, a great Richman-esque trawl around the world and the second song, Things Ain't What They Used To Be, is another high water-mark which ends with everyone chanting the hilarious threat, "That's not how you speak to Stanley Brinks!"
Whilst I don't subscribe to the theory that heightened productivity equals the release of filler material, I do find my attention wandering through the middle of the album, David T's stunning Robbie Robertson-like playing on Keep Your Head High being one of the few sounds to focus my attention. However, the record finishes very strongly with the aforementioned Martian song and the simply stunning last track, All The Love That Was Left.
Overall I definitely recommend this record to a WP's fan, at least half of it is terrific, the lyrics are never less than witty and if you like the WP's you'll probably like the unadorned sound the band kicks out. David mentioned in dispatches last year that they'd recorded a second album with Stanley called "Another One Just Like That". This is available on his Bandcamp page as a download/cd but doesn't seem to have had the co-headlining title which may have helped this record be bumped up to a vinyl release. If you like what you hear on this record though there's certainly plenty more out there from Brinks to keep you going....