In Guards We Trust

 

What a pleasant surprise on a rainy Monday evening, to come home and find Pitchfork is streaming 'In Guards We Trust' ahead of release- http://pitchfork.com/advance/17-in-guards-we-trust/


The album kicks off with the hazy, hypnotic, 'Nightmare'- it sounds like that point in a night out where you've drunk enough to start dancing. 'Giving Out' and 'Ready To Go' continue the trend, woozily reminiscent of places you've never been with people you've never met. The former sounds like an end-of-the-night floorfiller 'Don't let the lights go out... you'll hear them scream and shout / I feel it giving out... your clock is running out'. The vocals end abruptly, giving centre stage to an organ, lending an anthemic feel. The latter is a gorgeous summer day of a song, Richie Follin sounding like a cross between happy Billy Corgan and Romeo Stodart of The Magic Numbers. Plenty of guitar, chiming bells, and a massive chorus. Definite highlight of the album on my first listen.

'Silver Lining' is an all-out indie pop song- 'I wanna live for ever in a boat out on the sea'- it rips along making you want the same thing. It'll be soundtracking an advert for holidays in 5 months time. 'Heard The News' is a wonderful noise, something about it sounding vaguely Brit-Popish to me. Early 90's, Suede-esque, grungy... 'Not Supposed To' is one of the more understated tracks, not to say it should go unnoticed. Lyrically it's one of my favourite songs on the album- 'Holding on to something that you never had, well holding on just makes you sad. Looking out for something that you never seen, just close your eyes it comes with peace'. 'I Know It's You' soars on the back of some fantastic guitar and drum work. It hits its stride two minutes in, halting for a dreamy, swirling, organ interlude before picking up where it left off, Follin's vocals even more ardent than before. 'Coming True' is a bit of everything that's come before- a well crafted bit of indie rock, layers of sound, bursts of noise, a strong vocal. It builds and fades and comes back bigger again. Really enjoyable and... honest, for want of a better description. Another of my favourites is 'Your Man', sounding like a cross between 'The XX', 'The Shangri-La's' and Ennio Morricone. No further description required.    

'Can't Repair' has a massive motown feel to it, from the drums to the singalong refrain- 'oh no oh no, this one you just don't share... oh no oh no, this love you can't repair'. Put on a suit and your dancing shoes. 'Home Free' sounds like it's about to suddenly break in to one of two songs, 'Cannonball' by The Breeders or... 'More Than A Feeling' by Boston. Either way, another song that even before it's halfway through has seeped into your conciousness and can expect to hear the chorus coming back to you for days to come. 'Oh did you lie... to me? When you said... you and me?' (More than a feeeeeling!)

Final track is '1&1', a shimmering slow-dance. And another lyrically gorgeous track- 'If one and one... can really come to two. Then why on earth... would I not be with you?'. A brilliant closer, that sweeps you up in a collision of sound and echo and majestic organ. Can't put my thoughts on this track to words well enough to do it justice- but it's the only track that really bought to mind Richie Follin's sister's band, Cults- whose debut album I adored.

Looking forward to the physical release in the UK (I think we get it a while after the US, who get it next week). Definitely lived up to my hopes for it. And will be well up there as one of my favourites at the end of the year.