The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death

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The LP includes a bonus 7" single ("Caravan of Love") and although the CD comes with a coupon to send in for that single, the coupon has not been valid since December 31, 1987. On their second (and ultimately last) studio album, THE PEOPLE WHO GRINNED THEMSELVES TO DEATH, the Housemartins continued the style of R&B-influenced jangle pop they had developed on their debut. This time around they add horns and a generally more sober tone for a worthy follow-up to their brilliant debut album. That's not to say the band has lost its sense of humor--check out the goofy "Me and the Farmer." The Housemartins often use upbeat music to counterpoint the savage social criticism of their lyrics. The title track and "You'd Better Be Doubtful," for example, are scathing commentaries on Thatcherite England. Standouts include "We're Not Going Back," which highlights Norman Cook's elastic bassline, the simultaneously funny and sobering "Five Get Over Excited," featuring Stan Cullimore's acoustic guitar and a horn-section fadeout, and "The World's On Fire," the record's best track, with its crunching rhythm section and Paul Heaton's acrobatic vocals. Following PEOPLE, the Housemartins called it quits. Cook went on to success as Fatboy Slim, while Heaton and drummer Dave Hemingway started the Beautiful South-a band that took their rollicking, upbeat music/searingly brutal lyrics formula to extremes only hinted at here.