British Sea Power
Do You Like Rock Music?
Rough Trade
By Mike Randall
After a second album most would consider a flop, it was expected British Sea Power would change directions for their third-full length. It’s also safe to assume that after the post-punk styling of their excellent debut, The Decline of British Sea Power, and the indie-pop-infused follow-up, Open Season, arena rock wasn’t the logical next step. Then again, this quartet from Brighton, England has become as well known for their eccentricities, on-stage militaristic regalia and rustic stage props as they have for their music.
The counterclaim to the question posed by the album’s title is answered in the record’s content, and it’s a resounding yes, at least for the band. BSP’s sound is huge, utilizing driving guitars, grandiose but tasteful production and monumental choruses. They have the polish of My Morning Jacket, the theatrical bravado of Arcade Fire and the darkness of Interpol – all channeled into a single package. Other than the cerebral hymn of the opener (which also reprises itself and bookends the record as its closer), “All In It,” which repeats, “We’re all in it and we close our eyes” over and over, the pedal is throttled forward for the majority of the record’s first half. Songs like “No Lucifer” and “Lights Out for Darker Skies” are epic in scale, just waiting for fists to be pumped alongside chants and rising guitars. Both “Down on the Ground” and “A Trip Out” package ‘80s arena-rock riffs into something reminiscent of Peter, Bjorn and John with the volume turned up and the tempo accelerated. The album’s highlight has to be “Waving Flags,” which comes across as BSP’s answer to Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up,” complete with an anthemic triumphant sing-along.
The record’s second half finds BSP extricating the pedal, returning to a more melodic-centered approach found on their previous releases. The tempo begins to be downshifted following the slightly out of place instrumental, “The Great Skua,” which sets the stage for the rest of the album through its Explosions in the Sky-meets-Sigur Ros beauty. Following the forgettable, amped-up Ramones-style sing-along, “Atom,” BSP return to old form - with its swells of psychadelic organ. “No Need to Cry” recalls Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips while “Open the Door” comes across as a Brit-pop version of the Byrds.
Although straightforward in its massive sound, BSP have not traded their lyrical wit in any way or shifted that quizzical presence elsewhere. Do You Like Rock Music? is filled with historical references, scientific probes, accounts of British football, tales of immigration, a topical instrumental named for a sea bird and a chronicle of a wrestler. The aforementioned “Waving Flags” is described by Rough Trade as “a stirring tribute to Polish plumbers and groundbreaking nudist Hedy Lamarr.” Not exactly the subject matter accustomed to filling stadiums.
While Do You Like Rock Music? comes across as an interesting next step, it does seem to be calculated. The talent is certainly there to take them to the next level, which for BSP seems to be much larger venues and more mainstream acceptance. With the ability to produce a record this large in scale, perhaps the question that needs to be answered is whether or not the indie world is big enough to hold them.
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