The Strange Death Of Liberal England - Drown Your Heart Again

The Strange Death Of Liberal England sounds like a jokey, made-up slogan for Nick Clegg’s beleaguered party. But actually, it’s the title of an early 20th century British political tome, reappropriated as a band name by a Portsmouth indie rock outfit. Maybe the band name indicates some deep, philosophical topics will be touched on in their songs? Or maybe not. The band releases their second full-length album, ‘Drown Your Heart Again’, in September.

‘Lighthouse’ has a Michael Stipe / R.E.M.-esque vibe, except for the harmonising backing that sometimes threaten the gentleness of the main vocal. On ‘Rising Sea’, a single the band released this year, lead singer/guitarist Adam Woolway sounds like what would happen if a mad scientist could clone the best vocals of Stipe and Tom Smith together. Lyrically, the chorus of ‘I hear the wind / I hear the rain / falling against the windowpane / I run into / the rising sea / that is it between you and me’ is simple, yet catchy and effective, evoking those of R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Religion’. The guitars even sound like those of the two bands and against the towering vocals, this track as a whole soars. The only clue that this is not either R.E.M. or Editors is the clanging of the glockenspiel in the background.

And what is up with the plethora of bands using glockenspiel in indie bands these days? Consider Fanfarlo (with horns and mandolin), Freelance Whales (with banjo) and of course, the great Arcade Fire, who have triumphantly returned this summer with a #1 album in both America and Britain. Judging by the album title, the previously mentioned single ‘Rising Sea’ and ‘Lighthouse’, as well as the track ‘Flagships’, TSDOLE appear to have a fixation on bodies of water, just like Fanfarlo, who titled their debut album ‘Reservoir’). And just like Freelance Whales’s Doris Cellar, the lone female member of Strange Death of Liberal England, Kelly Jones, plays bass and provides backing vocals. It’s pretty unusual that TSDOLE just so happened to be very similar to other bands blurring the line between rock and folk; accordingly, they will need to prove their endurance and originality in an already crowded genre.

So what does TSDOLE have going for them? Just like too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup, too many instruments on a song can often spell cacophonous disaster. The best thing about ‘Drown Your Heart Again’ is the incredible layered sound of so many instruments in perfect harmony. ‘Curtain Falling’ could have become a mess at the end if someone hadn’t kept a close ear on the proceedings. Instead, it concludes focused, with driving drums.

The problem: the lead and backing vocal patterns sound too alike track to track, so you get the feeling that the band inadvertently started fresh at the drawing board for each song but ended up at the same place when they finished. (Often, judging by the urgency and sometimes wavering in Woolway’s voice, he and his crew sound like they are singing and shouting as they face a great storm.) This is great if you love their sound but if you don’t, the album can be a wholesale grater on the nerves. They sound like the kind of band that would work great at a festival, if you only had to listen to two or three of their songs.