Album Review
MONEY - Suicide Songs
3 StarsAn album that’s excellent at times, but which arrived with preconceptions so strong that could never be matched.
MONEY’s second album ‘Suicide Songs’ isn’t shy of stating its intentions early. From the album title, to the graphic cover art, to song titles that range from the bordering on ridiculous ‘You Look Like A Sad Painting On Both Sides Of The Sky’ to the bluntly bleak ‘Hopeless World’, the Manchester band aren’t afraid to give a lot away on a first impression.
First impressions shouldn’t count for everything though, even ones as vivid as these, and ‘Suicide Songs’ is often more hopeful (and even pleasant and jangly in corners) than they might suggest. ‘I’m Not Here’ is, indeed, lyrically dark, but delivered with a Britpop howl and plenty of pomp.
‘Night Came’, a nearly-nine-minute mess that sits in the middle of the record, tries to ruin any momentum gained so far though, with little to say across its unnecessary length. ‘I’ll Be The Night’, meanwhile, feels monumental, and the album’s biggest statement. It’s the moment in which the album reaches the anthemic status it has clearly intended for itself. Talk of “empires tumbling down” and being a “servant of the hour” still feel a little too grand and distant, but when things get personal (“I pray you’re never lonely / never empty, but cannot fathom the above.”), it hits a lot harder.
Closer ‘Cocaine Christmas & An Alcoholic’s New Year’ sees the album stutter to a conclusion, with none of the majesty that sees large portions of ‘Suicide Songs’ shine. When it does work, the album feels like a world beater, and thus those moments of inconsistency are frustrating. The visceral imagery and headlines that ushered in ‘Suicide Songs’ ends up serving to hold it back a little; an album that’s excellent at times, but which arrived with preconceptions so strong that could never be matched.
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MONEY bring sombre tranquillity to the Sunrise Arena for Latitude 2016
Jamie Lee and co. beautifully craft tracks from 'Suicide Songs'
16th July 2016, 12:00am
MONEY prove rich, warm and (mostly) fulfilling at Liverpool’s Leaf
Their luscious orchestration, cacophonous and passionate resonates round the tightly-packed room.
18th February 2016, 12:00am
MONEY talk ‘Suicide Songs’: “I didn’t feel good enough for lots of artistic reasons”
Ahead of the release of their new record, MONEY's Jamie Lee talks alcoholism and artistry.
22nd January 2016, 12:00am
MONEY share ‘A Cocaine Christmas and an Alcoholic’s New Year’
Track is taken from new album ‘Suicide Songs’.
18th December 2015, 12:00am
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