Music Review

03 December 2008 05:12 BST

Guillemots: Red

Polydor. March 24th.

In a nutshell...

Eccentric. Quirky. Bombastic. Catchy.

What's it all about?

Fyfe Dangerfield's troops return to follow up the subtly explosive Through the Windowpane. Red in many ways marks a departure from that album's laid-back but progressive songwriting, in that it opens up more disparate avenues. While the debut LP often revelled in minimal tactics - for instance the soft-as-cotton yet shatteringly poignant Little Bear - in places Red takes a more direct and visceral approach.

Guillemots seem here enmeshed within an R 'n' B template, leaning towards straightforward, booming lovelorn choruses that Timbaland wouldn't shy away from. However, that's not to say it doesn't bleed with tranquillity at times. Ballads mix with outright hits, taking on board a fusion of strings, keys and eerie moods. On first listen, it's a natural progression.

Who's it by?

Led by Brummie Mr Dangerfield, Guillemots enjoyed early success with their debut album, after a popular EP I Saw Such Things in My Sleep, released on Fantastic Plastic. Through the Windowpane got the band a Mercury nomination, along with a Brit award shortlist accolade.

To prove their off-kilter attitude, the outfit is completed by MC Lord Magrao (a Brazilian), piano player Aristazabal Hawkes (Canadian) and Greig Stewart (Scottish). Guillemots are the archetypal multi-national melting pot of sounds. As a result, instruments used here (and on the first record) are non-conformist; from birds to woodwind to typewriter.

As an example

"Calm down, you're getting so worn out." - Falling out of Reach

"Don't blame it on me, blame it on the words." - Words

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

With awareness about the band increasing all the time, as well as copious critical adoration, Guillemots are no longer a secret. While Windowpane missed its awards calling, Red could fill the gap. It will sell in number and sweep the ceremonies.

What the others say

"All in all, Red's a grandiose statement of intent, crammed with aspirational symphonies that run the gambit of popular culture over the past 40 years without ever succumbing to grating pastiche." - Billy Hamilton, Drowned in Sound

"Red is more a poor parody of the genre than a booty shaker. The biggest culprit is Big Dog, which sounds like a George Michael track from the mid-90s." - Jamie Crossan, NME

So is it any good?

Red drifts between shameless pop to the delicate, affirming balladry that Guillemots are famed for. Kriss Kross, which opens the record, billows in on a staccato synth and gun-shot melody, almost overblown epithets that set the tone. Such orchestral majesty is matched on Big Dog, layered by smooth rhythms, huge choruses and Oriental chimes - a tune that also welds Dangerfield's tones to Hakes' lighter notes.

Single Get Over It travels the same path, bouncing all the way, via some sing-along grooves. The band probably get away with it, just, yet take the 80s stance slightly too far on Last Kiss, driven by quaking bass that conjures Duran Duran. In contrast, the more understated recordings are better on the ear, including Words, a song that builds around some nonchalant piano to hit a peak.

Likewise, Falling out of Reach, probably the standout, blooms from distant seaside memories and fairground xylophone and flowers like an acoustic rose, as did Made up Lovesong #43, a trick that can work twice. Lyrically Dangerfield is a cutting as ever, dissecting apathy and identity and place, reaching a cosmic high on Standing on the Last Star. Red is listenable (if schizophrenic), ambitious and signals that in some cases quiet is louder than life.

7/10

John Maher