I was until recently unaware of the work of Airport 85. Probably because this is their 1st released work, at least as far as I can discern. One of their number, a man (I believe it is a male anyway, certainly looks so in the photo) whom I follow on my adjoining Twitter profile asked for people to do a review on said social networking website. I have in the past reviewed music, although more gigs than recorded material, and rather enjoying it I put my hand up. I have no major affiliation, friendship or kin with he or any of his number although his Twitterings do suggest he is a decent enough fellow, if slightly accident prone.
Anyway, the album. It opens with 'Knockout', which reminds me a little of Smash Mouth's All Star for some reason. It's a persistent little tune which wouldn't be out of place backing a credits reel at the end of a feel good film about Sandra Bullock's fear of knowing the truth, or some such (sorry, I'll try to keep the crappy 'wouldn't be out of place' shit to a minimum if I can). The guitar sound & harmonised backing vocals are tightly knit and its an enjoyable opener.
'Fifteen Certificates' is a bit more up my street, with a sweet little backing riff with some funky electric tricks & wistful vocals. There is a persistent feeling that this is a rejected latter day Stereophonics track, however one rejected because it showed a little too much creativity for Kelly's liking. The slightly paranoid ghostly lyrics near the end conjure up memories of some late 90s indie which is no bad thing either.
Next comes 'All The Answers' which again wouldn't have sounded out of place on a 'Shine' album, although it would be one of those severely indebted to the 80s like Electronic or the Boo Radleys. I can imagine this would be a great live track with its atmospheric atmospheric chorus and again a strong guitar, although the ending that I expected it to build up to didn't quite happen.
There's been a lot songs about Japan, and unsurprisingly, 'Japanese Movies' is no different. Well, I think so anyway... Some nice changes of heaviness of sound and what sounds like a dual vocal work well, & with a very danceable electric instrumental section that sounds ripe for remix this could well be a popular song. It took me the whole song to work out that it reminded of New Order's Regret, which is probably no bad thing.
I'm unsure if 'Fox' is specifically about an animal fox or a hot female humanoid. I'm assuming the latter unless the band are mates with Otis Ferry and the fox has a lot of problems. A lovely guitar solo in the midst of it gives it some real feeling, as the verses were in danger of boring me slightly. As with the other songs it feels very tight and hasn't been overproduced where it matters. A good sign.
'Cleveland' alas probably isn't about everyone's favourite Family Guy character. The tremoloing sound which probably isn't a banjo or mandolin (or is it...?) gives this song a haunting quality, while the xylophonic sound misfits in a good way, keeping one on one's toes. If I was sat at a party on my own, and drifted off into my own thoughts as I watched others enjoy themselves, I'd expect this to be playing in my minds ear. Well, it would anyway, if I wasn't such a damn party animal. But I digress... My favourite song so far.
'Night Crossing' starts like it might be a bit more, well, Kings of Leony, but the understated vocal tears that illusion apart. There is an anthemic quality (a description I loathe, I'll try and find a better one sometime) to this, and its another welcome return to that early-mid 90s feel. It feels good, radiates positivity, even when the singer declares "I'm hopeless, & I'm falling". I do abhor excessive use of the 'La' in lyrics, so marked down for that I'm afraid. Possible single/indie club material.
And next... 'Always Breathe' starts with a chilled electric sound, it could almost be from Cafe Del Mar. The intro dragged somewhat for me as on the basis of the other songs so far Airport 85 don't fail to get involved early. As the song went on I started to realise that this was probably all there was to it. Sounded ok, but a bit lazy in my honest although not well respected opinion.
However, then comes the spiky riff & sly bass playing at the start of 'River's Edge' to get things going again. Solid verse, and the well constructed bridge vocal harmony almost echoes The Animal Collective. It fires into a chorus at the end in which nothing is resolved (and why should it be?) before crashing to a finish. Good stuff.
A quiet start to 'Persona' moves into a whimsical verse which I'm sure promises "I'll stay till the badgers die", which is an admirable promise to anyone. Is there a woodland creature theme to this album? A little jangly guitar builds into a chunkier if not heavier sound, and another stubborn riff leads us into a chorus that could have been Bernard Butler playing for Damon Albarn. The ending builds up to a fiery final chorus before breaking back down to a slightly overdrawn coda. Another strong song that I thought would befitting to end the album. However 'tis a mere precursor to the finale.
'Saboteurs' starts off feeling like another Cafe Del Mar floaty number but we get some vocals that make it sound like its on a stage at a festival, but not the one your currently standing 3 foot deep in mud next to. Dare I say it sounds like Thom Yorke got some happy pills & some funky synth noises? There, I did. Certainly echoes of some Stone Roses tracks I enjoyed but have forgotten the name of too. Again, another one for the DJs to make a bit of merry hell with.
Overall I've enjoyed Airport 85's debut, and while I listened to it through the player on their site, I will be bookmarking it to buy & download when my next salary comes through (I only buy music/films/books in 1st few days of pay month, rest of excess cash goes on beer for rest of month). There's a few tracks that really stand out for me - 'Persona', 'River's Edge', 'Cleveland' and 'Japanese Movies', and overall I'd say that while there's not a huge legitimately original sound on the album, the way it and most of the songs have been put together shows a genuine musical intelligence and love of their at-times obvious influences, which I can respect. In these changing times I think many would find something to enjoy within these online walls.
I don't do marks, but I'll assign a number anyway:
34
Thursday, 4 February 2010
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