Guillemots - Red

Guillemots released their 2006 debut album, Through The Window Pane, at a time when guitar bands were here, there and everywhere. It was a refreshing change to the Arctic Monkeys and their fellow strummers. It was a debut album that was beautiful, lush with arrangements that could make your heart melt and full of songs that were a mix of heartbreaking balladry and fun pop songs. It deserved its Mercury Prize nomination and it should have won it. But guess who did...

Red, their second album, could not be anymore different. This album feels like a different band compared to the gentleness of their debut. Guillemots as a band are ready to loosen up, relax, and make an album that is striking, bold and ambitious. The result is an album that has some of their best work in their short career, and a few real duds.

And if you need any further proof of the change in direction, you can look as early as the album opener, Kriss Kross. It's as immediate an opener as you'll hear on any album all year (thus far, of course) and it's fantastic. The strings are more frantic, the energy level has multiplied by the bucketload, and Ffye Dangerfield, the lead singer, sounds like a more determined, confident man. He asks 'are you coming out tonight?' This song makes me want to say yes instantly.

Another thing you notice about Red is the versatility of the music styles. R'n'B, disco, electronica, jazz, pop rock, jangle pop...the list is endless. The results of this challenging experimentation is mixed.

When it works, it really works. Cockateels is an exotic adventure straight out of Bollywood, with sweeping string arrangements. Last Kiss is an excellent stab at disco with a pulsating bass and gorgeous female vocals. Words is a downtempo jazzy number that finds Ffye in his element with some truly heartbreaking lyrics over a background of musical subtilties.

But the true highlight is perhaps the most simplest song - Falling Out Of Reach. It's an acoustic ballad that feels completely organic and would not feel out of place on their debut. It's touching, heartwarming and one of the best things they've put to tape. If it's not released as a single then I'll fume at Polydor.

But, when it doesn't work, the results are disappointing and frustrating. Pop rock stomper Get Over It is far too average of a song and a weak choice for a lead singer. Big Dog is a brave, but foolish attempt at an R'n'B hit. Standing On The Last Star is a musically quite sound jangle pop song and would be more brilliant if it weren't for the fact that Ffye's voice sounds an awful lot like Mika. For every two decent tracks, one duff one comes along to spoil the fun.

And that is what prevents from liking this album a lot. And I really, really want to like this. If Through The Window Pane was Guillemots' stab at a classical pop record, then this is an attempt at making pop music for the current generation. At most points, it works. At a few points, it doesn't. The cohesion, because of the shortcomings, feels lost.

But, this record still makes Guillemots a band you just can't pigeonhole to a certain genre. And that is a very good thing indeed.

RATING - 7/10

Guillemots

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