New Wave Outpost Forum

Well, "today" if you're in the UK or order a wicked expensive import. To be released Feb 12th in the US. I've been listening to this A LOT lately. I didn't know what to make of it at first. I didn't find it immediately accessible. The album is dense and has lots of [i]sound[/i] in it, if that makes any sense. Now I can't get enough of it. I guess some good things require its layers to be pealed back a bit to see what it really is - better than being immediately catchy then ultimately boring I guess. In any case, I'm gonna say that this the most exhilarating pop/rock album I've heard in years. Big bluster I know, but it's so damned different and individualistic, I can't not love it.

It made me remember my thread on great 3rd albums:

http://nwoutpost.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19427

I wrote: "Lotsa great bands with great first albums. Maybe some shakey sophomore efforts though, and at the time you weren't sure if they were going to stay great. A lot of times it's that 3rd album that cements both your confidence in that band, their staying power, and their status in the pantheon of great bands." BSP will likely never be in the pantheon of a lot of peoples' great bands, which is fine with me. In fact, I love that they seem to be a throwback to a time when there were lots of borderline mainstream acts that had cadres of manic and obsessive fans, eager to overanalyze every lyric, debate every album and b-side track's merit, and cast a stern and dismissive eye to those who would scratch their heads at our group neurosis. All I'm saying here is that I personally am freaking ecstatic about this album. Having a band you love deliver an album that meets every expectation is a fantastic and rare feeling. Some reviews:

“Genius… a guitar laureate’s masterpiece” Maxim *****

“Ambitious, impressive and genuinely moving… chock full of epic music and seductive melodies” Q ****

“British Sea Power return in style” Mojo ****

“A masterpiece of epic proportions” The Word

“The glorious sound of a band going for broke” The Guardian ****

“The first great guitar album of 2008” Daily Mail *****

“The most original and enthralling mix of guitar, drums and synthesised orchestra since the Flaming Lips’ Soft Bulletin” Sunday Express *****

“Dangerously epic” Daily Telegraph

“Every track could be a summer festival anthem” The Sun ****

"A record that begs to be digested as a larger work, as each track shows a certain intent and level of importance" The Tripwire

“A surprise smash” The Times ****

“Exceptional” Metro ****

“CD of the week… neo-orchestral grandeur” The Observer

“First contender for album of 2008” Clash

“So sublime it brings a tear to the eye… British Sea Power are emperors of the elegiac” Independent

Thanks Blir, looking forward to hearing it. Those albums that don't immediately grab my attention but have that "something that makes me wanna hear it again instead of filing it away" are always the ones I go back to time and time again.

Great doggie pic in the thread link. Reminds me of a story my wife recently told me about a woman she works with. She is a lesbian and came to work pissed one day because her partner left the strap on out and their dog used it for a chew toy and trashed it.

After watching the Waving Flags vid several times after Blir's post I grabbed this off the usenet today and I must say its quite intersting. It does have alot of "sound" to it as described but you can definitely feel the groove they are in. I'll give the whole album some spins this week and see what I think.
Thanks for posting Blir!

[quote][i]Originally posted by enzfan[/i]
<br>Great doggie pic in the thread link. Reminds me of a story my wife recently told me about a woman she works with. She is a lesbian and came to work pissed one day because her partner left the strap on out and their dog used it for a chew toy and trashed it.
[/quote]
LOL...you had me totally confused for a couple of seconds until I remembered the rest of the old thread.

And call me crazy if one of the tracks, A Trip Out, doesn't burst out of the gates very much like The Jam used to. Here's a a BSP sample intermixed with four Jam samples. Which is BSP and which is the Jam?

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6541575a8ecdd4/

Unprecedented...my little BSP have cracked the UK Top 10 for the first time:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/albums.shtml

I love 'em for being non-commercial, but I also have this strange satisfaction that hopefully more people are hearing them.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by enzfan[/i]
<br>Great doggie pic in the thread link. Reminds me of a story my wife recently told me about a woman she works with. She is a lesbian and came to work pissed one day because her partner left the strap on out and their dog used it for a chew toy and trashed it.
[/quote]
LOL...you had me totally confused for a couple of seconds until I remembered the rest of the old thread.

And call me crazy if one of the tracks, A Trip Out, doesn't burst out of the gates very much like The Jam used to. Here's a a BSP sample intermixed with four Jam samples. Which is BSP and which is the Jam?

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6541575a8ecdd4/

[/quote]

Seems the third sample is BSP, as no. 1 is To Be Someone (Didn't We Have a Nice Time)?, no. 2 is "In The City," no. 3 is BSP, and no. 4 is "Billy Hunt," and last but not least one of my most fave Jam songs: "Strange Town!"


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[quote][i]Originally posted by glokstadt[/i]
<br>Seems the third sample is BSP, as no. 1 is To Be Someone (Didn't We Have a Nice Time)?, no. 2 is "In The City," no. 3 is BSP, and no. 4 is "Billy Hunt," and last but not least one of my most fave Jam songs: "Strange Town!"
[/quote]
Actually "In the City" first then "Away from the Numbers", but very good! "Strange Town" does seem to be a very mod-ish song, heh.

My friend mixed up about 20 BSP tunes from their three albums for me as an introduction to the band. I hadn't really given them a chance before, and I must admit that I have fallen in love with them, mainly for the tracks from "Do You Like Rock Music". Wavings Flags and Atom are outstanding, but the whole album is a huge, anthemic thrill to me.

[quote][i]Originally posted by zill[/i]
<br>I must admit that I have fallen in love with them, mainly for the tracks from "Do You Like Rock Music". Wavings Flags and Atom are outstanding, but the whole album is a huge, anthemic thrill to me.
[/quote]
Sniff...I'm all choked up...sniff...tawk amongst yourselves...

[:)][:)][:)]

Several bits of BSP news (and for those who don't know that I actually DO know I'm blathering on largely for my own edification...I am!):

1. Autographed pre-orders of DYLRM available at Newbury:

http://www.newburycomics.com/rel/v2_hom ... 4&affnr=86 [:p]

2. News just in that BSP are scheduled for Letterman in March. I have no idea what 5 million members of the general populace will think of these guys.

3. An acquaintance sent me photos of last night's gig on Canvey Island in the UK. They have a track titled [i]Canvey island[/i] on their new album (about a big flood there back in 1953). Part of my reason for liking BSP is their keen sense of history and musical legacy. This night they had Wilko Johnson, formerly of Dr Feelgood and Ian Drury and the Blockheads and resident of Canvey Island, join them for a guest spot. Apologies that I find such stupid little tidbits so damned interesting. [:I]

<img src="http://www.pbase.com/myirwin/image/92685162/original.jpg">

PS. They're not promoting "Frost Financial Services"...those are the local Canvey Island football club shirts.

I am drawing more than a few comparisons to The Chameleons- the timbre of the lead singer's voice, the wall of echo guitar and the victorious, galloping tempos.

Especially on "No Lucifer", "Waving Flags"and "Canvey Island". Good stuff!





<a href="http://www.djcraig.net/los_angeles_dj">DJ Craig</a>

I'd have to agree with other BSP fan's that DYLRM is an amazing release. After the Krankenhaus? EP I lowered my expectations for DYLRM, but they really came through. I know their more "manic" material must play well live but I really love their well crafted songs like "Waving Flags".

I'm not quite feeling the Chameleon's similarities, but they do remind me of a band I was really fond of in the 90's called "The Auteurs".




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[quote][i]Originally posted by SwampThing[/i]
<br>I'm not quite feeling the Chameleon's similarities, but they do remind me of a band I was really fond of in the 90's called "The Auteurs".[/quote]
Yeah, I don't think they sound strictly like the Chameleons. It might be more that they emote in a similar way. Neither ever sing of small things, or if they do, it's sort of in philosophical reflection of it. I don't think you'll ever hear a straight-up love song for example - "I love you, you love me, let's be fucking happy" or whatever.

Finally got this the other day and have listened to it twice. WOW!!! Great cd. A very big sound. Not as immediate as maybe Open Season was but I think this one will get better with each listen. I am also starting to hear Waving Flags on the local alt station as well which is a good sign. Definitely seeing them on May 9th in Philly. By the way, they are playing 2 shows on May 9th. One at 4 pm and then the 9 pm show. Blir, are they doing that at other venues???