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Reverend And The Makers - A French Kiss In The Chaos
| Drownedinsound |
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If the 'Reverend' Jon McClure is to be believed, then A French Kiss In The Chaos, Reverend And The Makers' second album, will also serve as their swansong. Last year he claimed he would quit the music industry which is making him "tired" and "ill" after making "a record that's truly artistic, which is the Reverend And The Makers album, that's artistically interesting." The Reverend has also decided to get serious, eschewing tales of provincial youth in favour of pontificating upon topics such the far right, global warming, and the media. Unfortunately the self-appointed sage of Sheffield is more likely to see eyes roll than eyebrows raise with this album dominated by uninspiring lad-rock clichés, crass political statements and empty platitudes. Take opener 'Silence Is Talking': the instantly recognisable brass refrain of War's 'Low Rider' is tacked on to a bloke-rock standard of Stone Roses baggy beats and the sort of guitar drones Oasis try to pass of as 'psychedelic', complete with Beatles-indebted sitar. It undoubtedly sounds like it could have all the makings of a summer smash, although it's a little frantic in its execution. However, for a man who so desperately wants to "instigate debate", McClure takes this opportunity to say...well, nothing at all really. There are some vague allusions to "the man" screwing us over ("the political official might have fiddled it a little/but unfortunately nobody knows"), but the mantra "feeling love is paramount" is the sort of meaningless drivel which would sound sappy in a Coldplay ballad. It's infinitely more nauseating when bellowed as some kind of revelation of divine proportions....full text |
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| Bbc |
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Jon McClure first came to prominence as the flatmate and occasional writing partner of Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner. As the 'Reverend' in Reverend & The Makers McClure then had his own success with 2007 debut album, The State Of Things, which reached the top five. This follow-up is more ambitious than that inaugural effort but suffers from the same variance in quality. For every smart couplet or cleverly constructed song structure there is a crass or naïve lyrical sentiment....full text |
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| Thelineofbestfit |
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Almost a year ago Jon ‘Reverend’ McClure announced he was quitting music after the next Reverend and the Makers record. And, much to the man’s surprise, a lot of people breathed a sigh of relief. Some (unsuprisingly) even did a bit of light piss-taking. So then he decided to perform a U-turn, in an attempt perhaps to salvage (or create) his reputation. And so A French Kiss In The Chaos, record number two, may no longer be the last we’ve heard from this particularly bandy of angry young Northerners. The previous Reverends model for album number one was telling tales of booze and women in the witty observant way of Arctic Monkeys et al, in a landscape of pubs, clubs, concrete and 9-to-5 drudgery. But it seems the swaggering and bravado has developed a bit of a conscience, as this album rolls with the times taking in nanny states, politicians, the media, and the ubiquitous anti-war theme....full text |
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