From the Vaults: Trollheart's Album Reviews Thread

Trollheart · 09-30-2021, 07:05 PM

Originally posted in The Playlist of Life, April 30 2013

Flaunt the Imperfection - China Crisis - 1985 (Virgin)

Nationality: English
Genre: Synthpop/New-Wave
Familiarity: The hit singles only

A band whose singles I know but whose albums I have heard not one of. I have to say though, pretty much everything that I have heard from them to date I have enjoyed; whether that will turn out to be that the singles were all just their best output and the albums largely uninteresting I don't know, but you can't really judge any artist by their singles. Sometimes the songs released are not that typical of the band's usual output, and are chosen as being the most commercial and therefore the ones most likely to make an impact in the charts, thereby raising the profile of the artist, while other, often more experimental or interesting or just atypical tracks are left on the albums, to be heard only by those who are sufficiently interested to buy them.

It never really struck me to go buy one of China Crisis's albums, and even now I'm maybe not expecting all that much. Seems like their last recorded output was almost twenty years ago now*, so are they still around? Well, yes they are, but since the late nineties they seem to have concentrated on live work only, with pretty much the two founder members forming the mainstay of the band, while others - both previous and new members - have come and gone in a fairly fluid state of affairs. Looks like their last concert was a sell-out last year though, and not in a bad way, so I wouldn't count them out just yet. Who knows? Maybe they'll come back with a new album soon.

But for now, this is what we have to judge them by. One of their more successful efforts, it cracked the top twenty in the album charts and also yielded them three singles, though only two were successful. Of those, though, one hit the top twenty and one just inside that; their biggest hit single was "Wishful Thinking" from the prior album Working With Fire and Steel. This starts off with an almost oriental melody as "The Highest High" gets us underway, an uptempo pop song with some nice keyboards and the by-now familiar voice of Gary Daly sounding to my mind very like Francis Dunnery from It Bites. There's a nice pleasant whistling sound set up by the synth, with soft, laidback drumming and rippling piano, a slick little bass line and it's a good opener. It's typical of a lot of the, shall we say, inoffensive pop of the eighties, not meaning to be scathing here or anything. It just doesn't punch you as some of the music from that era did; there are no heavy political messages, just some guys having a good time making music. And there's nothing wrong with that at all.

"Strength of Character" starts on some high guitar and flowing piano and synth, much slower and relaxed than the opener, though there's a sort of faster percussion set up within the song. It reminds me of Paul Muggleton's best work with Judie Tzuke in the late seventies and early eighties. Super little bit of sax work from Steve Gregory, then one of the less successful singles from this album is up next, with a nice funky guitar and bassline: I always liked "You Did Cut Me" and it bops along nicely, again with some great sax from Gregory, smooth keys from Daly, and a nice arrangement of brass giving the song something of a soul vibe. Great restrained little guitar solo from Eddie Lundon too. The song has a lovely little hook which really should have seen it go further in the charts than it did. That statement can't be levelled though at "Black Man Ray" which was the biggest hit from this album, and China Crisis's second-highest chart placement.

Built on a new-wave, almost Yazoo-style bass line and some perky piano, it's a cool little ballad that trips along on the gentle vocal of Gary Daly, again with a great hook in it, and a wonderful little, again oriental almost, keyboard riff that really forms the chorus without any words. Lundon also gets in a really slick little guitar solo, but it kind of fades out a little too weakly for my tastes, taking us into "Wall of God", which opens with an almost orchestral synth introduction then pumps the tempo back up to the level of the opener, a very upbeat little song again driven on a great bass line with some flowing keys and percussion that ticks along without getting overbearing. Very new-wave style keyboard solo, somewhat reminiscent of Depeche Mode or Fiction Factory, then Lundon rips off another fine guitar solo, and the oriental type piano returns. Gary Daly's vocal throughout rides above everything, the focus of your attention, his voice a little high and lilting in that almost-feminine sound many new wave vocalists of the time seemed to have.

This one ends much better, although it too fades, on a great combined guitar and keyboard solo, and we're into "Gift of Freedom" which opens with staccato, jerking synth then jumps into a mid-paced rhythm with solid keys and sharp guitar. It picks up pace soon after opening though and becomes a pretty upbeat song with a really nice vocal line. There is something more approaching a message in this song as Daly croons "Will this whole damn world/ Fall down?/ Before we learn to share/ What we've found?" Again, nice use of the brass section here, then the final hit single keeps the tempo high, in fact upping it considerably as "King in a Catholic Style" runs on what sound like pan pipes on speed, but is obviously synthesiser, hollow almost African drumming which is then joined by a superb little bass and an almost hurried vocal from Daly. Nice rippling piano on the chorus, and the drumming is now more natural and skipping along nicely. Lundon shows here what he can do on the guitar, delivering one of the best solos on the album so far. The song is though driven on the uptempo keyboard line, everything coming right back down then for the slower but yet poppy "Bigger the Punch I'm Feeling", which has I feel something of a Level 42 taste to it.

Nice jazzy guitar in this, and though I hate that handclap drumming it works well here and doesn't annoy me. Some lovely keyboard work from Daly in addition to his fine vocal, and more smooth contributions from the brass section, particularly Steve Gregory. Great backing vocals on this too. It ends on another slick little guitar piece from Eddie Lundon, taking us into "The World Spins, I'm Part of It", with an almost Genesisesque keyboard line which then metamorphoses into an uptempo, boppy song with the odd trace of calypso in there somewhere. Another star turn for the guys on the trumpets, sax and 'bones, it also has some squeaky keyboard from Daly which kind of resembles a harmonica sound with a pitch bend or something on it. Not my favourite track I must admit, but not bad. The album then closes on "Blue Sea", a soft atmospheric synth with attendant sax and sparkling piano, very laidback and relaxed, though to be fair I wouldn't call this a ballad. Strange in a way, that none of the ten tracks on this album other than "Black Man Ray" could be classed as a ballad. I would have expected more. Nevertheless, this is a gentle and tranquil way to end the album, and overall I must say I'm rather impressed.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Highest High
2. Strength of Character
3. You Did Cut Me
4. Black Man Ray
5. Wall of God
6. Gift of Freedom
7. King in a Catholic Style (Wake Up)
8. Bigger the Punch I'm Feeling
9. The World Spins, I'm Part of It
10. Blue Sea

So would I become a fan of China Crisis? I wouldn't go that far, but I'd certainly listen to some more of their output. There's nothing here that disappoints me or turns me off, and in general I'm pretty satisfied with what I've heard. No massive revelations, no sudden impulse to log on and purchase all of their material, and no huge desire that they should release anything new. But I can see why they were so popular back in the eighties; in fact, given their somewhat limited success in the charts I wonder they weren't better known and liked. Maybe they just didn't stand out from the crowd enough to mark them as really special. In fairness I'd probably agree with that. Good music, good band, but in the end perhaps lacking that certain x-factor that would make them a great band, and a must-listen.

Trollheart · 10-01-2021, 11:56 AM

Originally posted in Trollheart's Listening List, December 13 2015

Note: For those unfamiliar with my colour coding, at the time this was the key I used.
Terrible Meh Great Wonderful

The big red number refers to the album's position in the artist's discography (in this case, third) and the little guys with the headphones at the end, well I assume that's self-explanatory.

Title: Beings
Artist: Lanterns on the Lake
Year 2015
Nationality: English
Genre: Indie Rock
Familiarity: I've heard and loved Gracious Tide, Take Me Home
3
Expectations: I don't know. There were mixed reviews for the followup, Until the Colours Run, but I've not yet heard that. I'm hoping this will be more in the style of the debut than the second album. Either way it will be great to hear Hazel again.

1. Of dust and matter: After some radio-tuning noises and effects we're greeted by a single acoustic guitar strumming slowly, and then that angelic voice of Hazel Wilde, with crying synth rising behind her like some sort of banshee. Beautiful lonely piano now as Hazel's voice rises in passion, and it's a strong, strong start and augurs well for the rest of the album. Rolling percussion and really sprinkly piano as we rise towards the conclusion of the song.
2. I'll stall them: Beautiful piano and sweet trumpet leads this in, then it gets pretty passionate and powerful as it goes along, Hazel's soulful voice taking command with a great sort of again crying synth counterpointing the brass and making this just something quite special.
3. Faultlines: More uptempo with some busy percussion and rolling piano, a stronger vocal from Hazel but I feel it could end at the three minute mark whereas it continues on to five. It's not that it's overstretched, as such, but it does seem a little unnecessarily long. Still a great track though.
4. The crawl: The first since the opener to begin on guitar, joined then by Hazel's piano and another ethereal vocal. Love the sort of militaristic drumbeat that is somehow both incongruous and exactly fits. That rising synth (I'm beginning to wonder if it's guitar?) is back and it slots right into the feel of the song.
5. Send me home: Wondering if that's violin accompanying the piano at the opening of this ballad? Short but beautiful, the way LotL do so well.
6. Through the cellar door: Kind of a slightly Prefab idea about this I feel; midpaced with a really nice just gently riffing guitar that then bursts out in a quite unexpected punch, taking the song by the scruff before Hazel and her piano re-establish order. Nice to be shaken up once in a while.
7. Beings: If there's one thing apart from Hazel's voice that makes Lanterns on the Lake so special, it's her exceptional skill on the piano, and here she demonstrates it once again, almost without guile, like someone saying “Yeah, I can do this. So?” Almost as if it's not a big deal. Talk about self-effacing. More beautiful synth and rolling drums. Just gorgeous. Wonderful rising - I don't know: guitar? Vocal? Synth? Just beautiful.
8. Stepping down: I think there's some scratching going on here, or maybe it's samples, but against the serene piano line it really is so effective, almost like listening to the wind howling outside on a cold night as you sit by a nice warm fire. Has a very ambient feel to it.
9. Stuck for an outline: This is where Hazel shows she can coax some real power and almost anger out of her keyboard. Violin added in from Angela Chang helps to calm the song slightly, but there's an unaccustomed bitternness in Hazel's vocal here. Powerful percussive ending that almost, but not quite, shakes the overall feeling of serenity this album gives me.
10. Inkblot: This short track takes ethereal to a new level and is an amazing if slightly muted closer.

Final result: I'm sort of sorry that I have yet to hear Until the Colours Run, as I might have been able to say this is three for three; LotL got a lot of praise for Gracious Tide.. and sometimes we know the one thing music critics love is to kick their darlings, so the negative reviews of Colours might have been some backlash, the expected thing, the reaction to the dreaded second album: we'd better trash them or we won't be cool. Or maybe it was a disappointment, I don't know. But this one certainly isn't, and leading in my case anyway on from Gracious Tide, Take Me Home it's a pretty phenomenal followup.

Rating:

and a half

(Sorry; almost all the tracks on YT are unplayable in my country, so this is the only one I could get.)

09-30-2021, 07:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	*Originally posted in The Playlist of Life, April 30 2013* Flaunt the Imperfection - China Crisis - 1985 (Virgin) Nationality: English Genre: Synthpop/New-Wave Familiarity: The hit singles only A band whose singles I know but whose albums I have heard not one of. I have to say though, pretty much everything that I have heard from them to date I have enjoyed; whether that will turn out to be that the singles were all just their best output and the albums largely uninteresting I don't know, but you can't really judge any artist by their singles. Sometimes the songs released are not that typical of the band's usual output, and are chosen as being the most commercial and therefore the ones most likely to make an impact in the charts, thereby raising the profile of the artist, while other, often more experimental or interesting or just atypical tracks are left on the albums, to be heard only by those who are sufficiently interested to buy them. It never really struck me to go buy one of China Crisis's albums, and even now I'm maybe not expecting all that much. Seems like their last recorded output was almost twenty years ago now, so are they still around? Well, yes they are, but since the late nineties they seem to have concentrated on live work only, with pretty much the two founder members forming the mainstay of the band, while others - both previous and new members - have come and gone in a fairly fluid state of affairs. Looks like their last concert was a sell-out last year though, and not in a bad way, so I wouldn't count them out just yet. Who knows? Maybe they'll come back with a new album soon. But for now, this is what we have to judge them by. One of their more successful efforts, it cracked the top twenty in the album charts and also yielded them three singles, though only two were successful. Of those, though, one hit the top twenty and one just inside that; their biggest hit single was "Wishful Thinking" from the prior album Working With Fire and Steel. This starts off with an almost oriental melody as "The Highest High" gets us underway, an uptempo pop song with some nice keyboards and the by-now familiar voice of Gary Daly sounding to my mind very like Francis Dunnery from It Bites. There's a nice pleasant whistling sound set up by the synth, with soft, laidback drumming and rippling piano, a slick little bass line and it's a good opener. It's typical of a lot of the, shall we say, inoffensive pop of the eighties, not meaning to be scathing here or anything. It just doesn't punch you as some of the music from that era did; there are no heavy political messages, just some guys having a good time making music. And there's nothing wrong with that at all. "Strength of Character" starts on some high guitar and flowing piano and synth, much slower and relaxed than the opener, though there's a sort of faster percussion set up within the song. It reminds me of Paul Muggleton's best work with Judie Tzuke in the late seventies and early eighties. Super little bit of sax work from Steve Gregory, then one of the less successful singles from this album is up next, with a nice funky guitar and bassline: I always liked "You Did Cut Me" and it bops along nicely, again with some great sax from Gregory, smooth keys from Daly, and a nice arrangement of brass giving the song something of a soul vibe. Great restrained little guitar solo from Eddie Lundon too. The song has a lovely little hook which really should have seen it go further in the charts than it did. That statement can't be levelled though at "Black Man Ray" which was the biggest hit from this album, and China Crisis's second-highest chart placement. Built on a new-wave, almost Yazoo-style bass line and some perky piano, it's a cool little ballad that trips along on the gentle vocal of Gary Daly, again with a great hook in it, and a wonderful little, again oriental almost, keyboard riff that really forms the chorus without any words. Lundon also gets in a really slick little guitar solo, but it kind of fades out a little too weakly for my tastes, taking us into "Wall of God", which opens with an almost orchestral synth introduction then pumps the tempo back up to the level of the opener, a very upbeat little song again driven on a great bass line with some flowing keys and percussion that ticks along without getting overbearing. Very new-wave style keyboard solo, somewhat reminiscent of Depeche Mode or Fiction Factory, then Lundon rips off another fine guitar solo, and the oriental type piano returns. Gary Daly's vocal throughout rides above everything, the focus of your attention, his voice a little high and lilting in that almost-feminine sound many new wave vocalists of the time seemed to have. This one ends much better, although it too fades, on a great combined guitar and keyboard solo, and we're into "Gift of Freedom" which opens with staccato, jerking synth then jumps into a mid-paced rhythm with solid keys and sharp guitar. It picks up pace soon after opening though and becomes a pretty upbeat song with a really nice vocal line. There is something more approaching a message in this song as Daly croons "Will this whole damn world/ Fall down?/ Before we learn to share/ What we've found?"* Again, nice use of the brass section here, then the final hit single keeps the tempo high, in fact upping it considerably as "King in a Catholic Style" runs on what sound like pan pipes on speed, but is obviously synthesiser, hollow almost African drumming which is then joined by a superb little bass and an almost hurried vocal from Daly. Nice rippling piano on the chorus, and the drumming is now more natural and skipping along nicely. Lundon shows here what he can do on the guitar, delivering one of the best solos on the album so far. The song is though driven on the uptempo keyboard line, everything coming right back down then for the slower but yet poppy "Bigger the Punch I'm Feeling", which has I feel something of a Level 42 taste to it. Nice jazzy guitar in this, and though I hate that handclap drumming it works well here and doesn't annoy me. Some lovely keyboard work from Daly in addition to his fine vocal, and more smooth contributions from the brass section, particularly Steve Gregory. Great backing vocals on this too. It ends on another slick little guitar piece from Eddie Lundon, taking us into "The World Spins, I'm Part of It", with an almost Genesisesque keyboard line which then metamorphoses into an uptempo, boppy song with the odd trace of calypso in there somewhere. Another star turn for the guys on the trumpets, sax and 'bones, it also has some squeaky keyboard from Daly which kind of resembles a harmonica sound with a pitch bend or something on it. Not my favourite track I must admit, but not bad. The album then closes on "Blue Sea", a soft atmospheric synth with attendant sax and sparkling piano, very laidback and relaxed, though to be fair I wouldn't call this a ballad. Strange in a way, that none of the ten tracks on this album other than "Black Man Ray" could be classed as a ballad. I would have expected more. Nevertheless, this is a gentle and tranquil way to end the album, and overall I must say I'm rather impressed. TRACK LISTING 1. The Highest High 2. Strength of Character 3. You Did Cut Me 4. Black Man Ray 5. Wall of God 6. Gift of Freedom 7. King in a Catholic Style (Wake Up) 8. Bigger the Punch I'm Feeling 9. The World Spins, I'm Part of It 10. Blue Sea So would I become a fan of China Crisis? I wouldn't go that far, but I'd certainly listen to some more of their output. There's nothing here that disappoints me or turns me off, and in general I'm pretty satisfied with what I've heard. No massive revelations, no sudden impulse to log on and purchase all of their material, and no huge desire that they should release anything new. But I can see why they were so popular back in the eighties; in fact, given their somewhat limited success in the charts I wonder they weren't better known and liked. Maybe they just didn't stand out from the crowd enough to mark them as really special. In fairness I'd probably agree with that. Good music, good band, but in the end perhaps lacking that certain x-factor that would make them a great band, and a must-listen. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 10-01-2021 at 12:06 PM.

10-01-2021, 11:56 AM	#2 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Originally posted in Trollheart's Listening List, December 13 2015 Note: For those unfamiliar with my colour coding, at the time this was the key I used. Terrible Meh Great Wonderful The big red number refers to the album's position in the artist's discography (in this case, third) and the little guys with the headphones at the end, well I assume that's self-explanatory. Title: Beings Artist: Lanterns on the Lake Year 2015 Nationality: English Genre: Indie Rock Familiarity: I've heard and loved Gracious Tide, Take Me Home 3 Expectations: I don't know. There were mixed reviews for the followup, Until the Colours Run, but I've not yet heard that. I'm hoping this will be more in the style of the debut than the second album. Either way it will be great to hear Hazel again. 1. Of dust and matter: After some radio-tuning noises and effects we're greeted by a single acoustic guitar strumming slowly, and then that angelic voice of Hazel Wilde, with crying synth rising behind her like some sort of banshee. Beautiful lonely piano now as Hazel's voice rises in passion, and it's a strong, strong start and augurs well for the rest of the album. Rolling percussion and really sprinkly piano as we rise towards the conclusion of the song. 2. I'll stall them: Beautiful piano and sweet trumpet leads this in, then it gets pretty passionate and powerful as it goes along, Hazel's soulful voice taking command with a great sort of again crying synth counterpointing the brass and making this just something quite special. 3. Faultlines: More uptempo with some busy percussion and rolling piano, a stronger vocal from Hazel but I feel it could end at the three minute mark whereas it continues on to five. It's not that it's overstretched, as such, but it does seem a little unnecessarily long. Still a great track though. 4. The crawl: The first since the opener to begin on guitar, joined then by Hazel's piano and another ethereal vocal. Love the sort of militaristic drumbeat that is somehow both incongruous and exactly fits. That rising synth (I'm beginning to wonder if it's guitar?) is back and it slots right into the feel of the song. 5. Send me home: Wondering if that's violin accompanying the piano at the opening of this ballad? Short but beautiful, the way LotL do so well. 6. Through the cellar door: Kind of a slightly Prefab idea about this I feel; midpaced with a really nice just gently riffing guitar that then bursts out in a quite unexpected punch, taking the song by the scruff before Hazel and her piano re-establish order. Nice to be shaken up once in a while. 7. Beings: If there's one thing apart from Hazel's voice that makes Lanterns on the Lake so special, it's her exceptional skill on the piano, and here she demonstrates it once again, almost without guile, like someone saying “Yeah, I can do this. So?” Almost as if it's not a big deal. Talk about self-effacing. More beautiful synth and rolling drums. Just gorgeous. Wonderful rising - I don't know: guitar? Vocal? Synth? Just beautiful. 8. Stepping down: I think there's some scratching going on here, or maybe it's samples, but against the serene piano line it really is so effective, almost like listening to the wind howling outside on a cold night as you sit by a nice warm fire. Has a very ambient feel to it. 9. Stuck for an outline: This is where Hazel shows she can coax some real power and almost anger out of her keyboard. Violin added in from Angela Chang helps to calm the song slightly, but there's an unaccustomed bitternness in Hazel's vocal here. Powerful percussive ending that almost, but not quite, shakes the overall feeling of serenity this album gives me. 10. Inkblot: This short track takes ethereal to a new level and is an amazing if slightly muted closer. Final result: I'm sort of sorry that I have yet to hear Until the Colours Run, as I might have been able to say this is three for three; LotL got a lot of praise for Gracious Tide.. and sometimes we know the one thing music critics love is to kick their darlings, so the negative reviews of Colours might have been some backlash, the expected thing, the reaction to the dreaded second album: we'd better trash them or we won't be cool. Or maybe it was a disappointment, I don't know. But this one certainly isn't, and leading in my case anyway on from Gracious Tide, Take Me Home it's a pretty phenomenal followup. Rating: and a half (Sorry; almost all the tracks on YT are unplayable in my country, so this is the only one I could get.) __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 10-01-2021 at 12:02 PM.