The Bluetones - If...
I’m sorry, Bluetones, I really am. From barely controlled excitement at best ever debut album by a British band in my lifetime Expecting to Fly via a confused relationship with its successor Return to the Last Chance Saloon - love half, have quite possibly listened to the other half no more than once - to paying no attention whatsoever to album number three, Science & Nature. I really am sorry.
But this, this is magnificent, we surely must all agree, we fans of Britpop, we fans of 90s indie guitar bands. It builds, drops, builds, and builds again, knowing exactly when pull the new shape each time. It begs, borrows or steals a line from Wichita Lineman, and then dumps you out in the cold when you least expect. It’s what Britpop isn’t supposed to be: simple, yet smart.
As of 2011, no more Bluetones means no more Bluetones, but it does mean more Mark Morriss. The singer’s second solo album A Flash of Darkness was released earlier this year; if, like me, you kind of miss having The Bluetones around, you should definitely pick up a copy.