People 'Round Here Don't Like To Talk About It The Complete EMI Recordings 6CD Clamshell Box Set

When all the world seemed swept away by the breezy, happy tide of Brit-pop in the early 1990s, a few groups held fast to noisy bitterness and the Auteurs were one of the best. Luke Haines lyrics were a guided tour of frustration and gloom, his voice was a sideways sneer, and he steadfastly refused to be romantic, optimistic, or laddy. The songs were hooky but not in a showy way -- more in a late-60s Kinks vein, where it the Auteurs a little effort to uncover the goodness buried deep inside. Their 1992 album New Wave was a near-perfect debut that mixed brilliant songs, razor-sharp lyrics, and uncluttered production in a magical way that sounds just as vital decades later as it did upon release. The rest of their work proves almost as timeless, as a trawl through the 2023 box set People Round Here Dont Like to Talk About It: The Complete EMI Recordings makes clear. Each of the bands four albums (New Wave, 1994s Now Im a Cowboy, 1996s Steve Albini-recorded After Murder Park, and 1999s How I Learned to Love the Bootboys) are included, along with bonus tracks, as is the oddball electronic album Haines released under the name Baader Meinhof in 1996. The set also makes room for an album Haines made in 2002 where he and a small orchestra remade a selection of Auteurs songs with strings. Rounding out the set is the charmingly lo-fi original demo Haines made in 1991 to get the whole thing started. There arent any unreleased tracks or rarities here to be discovered by someone who already has the reissues that came out in 2014; in fact, all the radio sessions and live tracks that were on those have been stripped. Haines says in the liner notes that six discs is enough for anyone to handle and he makes a fair point. Perhaps a second set of radio tracks and live shows is in the works and if it isnt, it probably should be. As for what is included, the collection works as a handy carry-all for anyone looking to tidy up their Auteurs collection, and a heady research project for those new to the band who might want to explore the seedy underbelly of Brit-pop in all its shabby glory. One cant go wrong with anything here -- even the remakes -- as Haines and company made a wise move by creating timeless music. Sure, listening to this set may bring up a feeling of nostalgia, but time hasnt healed any of these wounds; the anger, bile, and sharpness of the songs and sounds are real and alive and ready to be (re)discovered again. ~ Tim Sendra