Manchester Calling

The Housemartins / The Beautiful South の Paul Heaton が The Beautiful South のリード・ヴォーカル Jacqui Abbott と結成したデュオ・ユニットの4thアルバム

Heatonによるキャッチーなメロディで紡がれた極上のラヴ・ソングが全編に溢れる、3年ぶりの4thアルバム。Heatonが最初に結成したバンド Housemartins 時代の作品や、本デュオの全3作の全てを手がけた長年の盟友プロデューサー John Williams が本作でも続投し、マンチェスター/サルフォードのBlueprint Studiosでレコーディング。Heatonによる作詞はオランダ北部やベルギーで行われ、作曲はプエルトリコのグラン・カナリア・ホテルやドイツ/ラーンで行われたという。17年間マンチェスターを拠点にしているHeatonは、近年マンチェスターが大都市化したことを嘆き、反開発/反欲望や過度な近代化への不満を本作のテーマに据えたと語っている。

After hitting the U.K. Top Five with all three of their prior duo albums, the Beautiful Souths Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott return with a generous 16-track set. A tip of the hat to the Clashs double album London Calling, Manchester Calling verifies that Heaton can indeed churn out enough bouncy earworms and playfully acerbic verses to fill the more ambitious length, though its likely thanks, at least in part, to the three-year gap between records, their longest yet. Opening track The Only Exercise I Get Is You is a prime example of an uptempo, clap-along ditty paired with deceptively affectionate lyrics that are volleyed between the couple. The songs listing of alternately snide and self-depreciating exceptions to inactivity include the opening lines Apart from at the supermarket, walking down the aisle/Apart from when youre angry and Im trying not to smile… Later, A Good Day Is Hard to Find is another upbeat entry, replete with harmonized vocals, jaunty piano, and a brass section. The reggae rhythms of If You Could See Your Faults see Abbott turning self-examination outward, while the country-rock-infused You and Me (Were Meant to Be Together) is a humorous feel-good track full of appreciation (Like cotton wool and tube of superglue/Inspector Morse or Sherlock Holmes to clue/You and me were meant to be together). The very few more-wistful entries include Fat of the Land, a piano song that straddles classic country ballad and cabaret, and The Outskirts of the Dancefloor, which is closer to Bacharach than to anything fit for the clubs. For something completely different, MCR Calling examines Heatons adopted city with nods to hip-hop on a dramatic, sample-filled spoken word track (They’re pulling down the last building anybody actually liked). Despite a few poignant moments, Manchester Calling is dominated by lively, playful songs, and though the track list might have been improved by cutting a handful of the more similar ones, the couple cant be justly accused of allowing any filler. ~ Marcy Donelson