Concrete Love: The Courteeners Album Review
The Courteeners are a band from Manchester with an outspoken front-man called Liam. Remind you of anyone?
They have written a very quick follow up to their 2013 album Anna which is called Concrete Love and it was released on the 18th of August. Considering their last album only came out a year before this one, you might be thinking that the album is rushed and not up to standard. Think again, because Concrete Love has some out and out arena prepared anthems and might even be the best album they have released.
After the release of Anna Liam Fray (front-man) said that the band were going on a break for a while not playing any gigs or festivals. This turned out to be code for "I've got loads more songs let's write another album" they also played Reading and Leeds festival a week after Concrete Love was released headlining the Radio 1 NME stage. Liam has said that this album is about some of his failed relationships in the past, and when asked why he chose this as a topic for an album he said "Well, I'm not very good at them" them being relationships so it's only natural to write an album about it. Courteeners have established themselves as one of Manchester's elite along with the likes of Oasis and The Smiths but does this album alter people's opinions of them?
The first thing which is noticeable about this album is the echo effect on Fray's voice which is persistent on opening track "White Horses" some people might suggest that this means he is losing voice after just four albums but in the case of this song it fits the melody and guitar riff perfectly. It could be inspired by "Inhaler" by Foals, it has a very similar progression in the sense there is no singing it what perceive to be the chorus and the drum beat is very similar, but there is nothing wrong with this and it is as good as any opening album track. In the track "Dreamers" Fray sings about well known chart acts by stating "The charts are full of cartoons and lawyers having a gap year" and yes he's right because the top 40 has become a bit of a mess but surely he is trying to join them in the charts with songs like "Summer" which would fit in on the Radio 1 playlist. However, "Next Time You Call" is an indie dance-floor classic in the making, with the screeching guitar opening it's what The Courteeners do best which is get people moving. The album overall is not perfect, "Black and Blue" sounds a little rushed and unfinished and "International" reads like it's about someone who's ready to conquer the world but the actual song is a little bit of a whimper.
There are some high points on the album however. The aforementioned "White Horse" and "Summer" are suitable for where Courteeners want to go, but the stand-out track is "How Good It Was" which is like a reincarnation of the much liked "Not Nineteen Forever" from the Courteeners debut album. "International" is an indie dance floor classic in the making but "How Good it was" is already a classic, and it will go down a treat when the band play arena's on their tour of the UK this November.
6/10
Best tracks in my opinion: White Horses, How Good it Was.
The first thing which is noticeable about this album is the echo effect on Fray's voice which is persistent on opening track "White Horses" some people might suggest that this means he is losing voice after just four albums but in the case of this song it fits the melody and guitar riff perfectly. It could be inspired by "Inhaler" by Foals, it has a very similar progression in the sense there is no singing it what perceive to be the chorus and the drum beat is very similar, but there is nothing wrong with this and it is as good as any opening album track. In the track "Dreamers" Fray sings about well known chart acts by stating "The charts are full of cartoons and lawyers having a gap year" and yes he's right because the top 40 has become a bit of a mess but surely he is trying to join them in the charts with songs like "Summer" which would fit in on the Radio 1 playlist. However, "Next Time You Call" is an indie dance-floor classic in the making, with the screeching guitar opening it's what The Courteeners do best which is get people moving. The album overall is not perfect, "Black and Blue" sounds a little rushed and unfinished and "International" reads like it's about someone who's ready to conquer the world but the actual song is a little bit of a whimper.
There are some high points on the album however. The aforementioned "White Horse" and "Summer" are suitable for where Courteeners want to go, but the stand-out track is "How Good It Was" which is like a reincarnation of the much liked "Not Nineteen Forever" from the Courteeners debut album. "International" is an indie dance floor classic in the making but "How Good it was" is already a classic, and it will go down a treat when the band play arena's on their tour of the UK this November.
6/10
Best tracks in my opinion: White Horses, How Good it Was.
Post a Comment