Andiamo al 1995, alla settima fatica dei nostri YLT, dopo le ottime prove di May I Sing With Me e Painful. L’Album, valido Indie Rock/Noise Pop, sovente messo in sordina dalla critica, è tutto percorso e dominato dai riverberi della chitarra di Kaplan, dai suoi contrappunti e dissonanze, ora granitiche, ora ipnotiche, ora oniriche. Il fragile soprano della Hubley acquista sempre più spazio, e con merito. Kaplan si diletta anche all’organo con linearità percussiva. Mc New è sempre educato al basso. Alla batteria la Hubley è una garanzia, impulsiva e misurata, quando e quanto serve.

Forse un po’ disunito, ma non già sfocato, l’Lp non manca di episodi eccellenti, a partire da Tom Curtenay, pop di evocazione beatlesiana, con riguardo al beat inglese dei sixties. La melodia è così riuscita che Dante direbbe “ti fia chiavata in mezzo de la testa con maggior chiovi che d'altrui sermone”. La jam finale, Blue Line Swinger, esplica bene il lato rumoristico della band, ispirato alla “Gioventù Sonica”, e va a replicare I Heard You Looking (da “Painful”, strumentale stupendo, “da paura” appunto), aggiungendovi il canto pregevole della Hubley, in una magnifica e lunga progressione vagamente kraut, ma che giunge al proprio apice. False Alarm è uno spken dissonante, spigoloso, pieno di singulti e fracasso, a cadenze di boogie. Flying Lesson procede tra Velvet Underground e Joy Division, omaggiando e dissimulando entrambi. La notturna, rarefatta e dilatata The Hour Growns Late è consegnata in dote tanto al Dream pop che al Gospel (almeno come concetto).

Un album minore degli YLT, ma di grande mestiere, complesso nelle sue tessiture, mai scontato negli esiti: tra tante citazioni, o meglio riferimenti, il proseguimento di un discorso assolutamente personale.

Elenco tracce e testi

01   Decora (03:27)

I see you crawling across the floor
Never see you standing anymore
You take whatever's put in your hand
You ask for more until you can't

It's not the first time you'll take a fall
Act like you've never sleen double before
We tie deep into the past
Take this chance with me cause it's your last

02   Don't Say A Word (Hot Chicken #2) (03:28)

03   (Straight Down To The) Bitter End (03:59)

04   My Heart's Reflection (06:02)

05   Attack On Love (01:52)

06   Blue Line Swinger (09:19)

You, you won't talk about what we see when the lights are out
And I'm willing to hold your hand while you're lost,
while you're so full of doubt
Walk for miles, on your own loose ends, I'll find you there
I'll find you there

You, you walk up thin blue lines possible with reality
And I, I see through small red eyes,
glowing still at your uncertainty
Out of darkness you will come around, I know you will
I know you will
And I'll find you
And I'll find you there

07   Flying Lesson (Hot Chicken #1) (06:42)

Eyes go places that you can't see
It's not that easy to hide from me
I hear the whispers everywhere I go
I hear the laughter everywhere I go

3 AM with the TV on
4 AM, TV on
The nervous ticking of my heart
Restlessness when we're apart

Think about the last thing that we said
Again and again it runs through my head
And I hear footsteps that aren't yours
They sound like yours, but they all do

Not much left for me to pray
Why sleep or dream when I'm awake
My eyes in places you forgot to look
My eyes in places you forgot to look

08   The Hour Grows Late (03:06)

09   Tom Courtenay (03:30)

Julie Christie, the rumors are true
As the pages turn, my eyes are glued
To the movie star and his sordid life
Mr. Ex and his old-suffering wife
I spent so much time dreaming about Eleanor Bron
In my room with the curtains drawn
See her in the arms of Paul
Say it, I can say no more
As the music swells somehow stronger from adversity
Our hero finds his inner peace
So now I'm looking for a lucky charm
With a needle hanging out of its arm

As time goes by I know it's gonna happen
I know it's going away
Gonna take its toll, gonna take its toll
Gonna take my time
And I'm thinking about the way things are
And I'm thinking about the way things were
Thinking about Eleanor Bron
And I'm thinking about a lucky charm
And I'm thinking about the needle
Oh, I'm thinking about the needle
And I'm thinking about..

10   False Ending (00:56)

11   Pablo And Andrea (04:16)

show me where you keep all your secrets upstairs
night after night you sleep while they're setting off flares

someone came and took all the roses away
now you'll sit showing me tears if you want me to stay
cause down the street all the meters have run out of time
run out of time

I waited for you as the trees swayed out of time
in a crowded room I pick up your lonely stare
I'll cover for you like a slipcover covers a chair
but someone came and took all the roses away
it was only 5 minutes, it felt like it stretched into a day
someone came and took all the roses away

took all the roses away
took all the roses away

12   Paul Is Dead (02:26)

13   False Alarm (05:28)

Oh no, I think I'm falling for a false alarm
Like an all-day second stuck
Until you crunch the right arm
Well if I open my eyes, if I just pay attention to McNew
Well, I just held back
To listen to your cues
So it's not enough I never meant to hold you down
Waiting for the firestorm
Waiting for the false alarm

Well, is it really true? Well, I know, I mean I guess, uh, why not
Well is it really true, I don't know,
Too hard to figure out
I'm gonna mark my words, cross my eyes and stomp my feet
Cause I don't want you feeling bad, feeling bad, feeling
Worse than you do
Well, I'll stand my ground, hide behind a fake smile
Think I'll talk about something else
Just for a little while

Aw, said it once, said it twice, said it - you can tell it's the same old tune
Straight down to the bitter end
Tell me when there's more to go there soon
It's gonna hold my tongue in place, think about what to do
If you don't see nothing wrong this time
Well I'm taking it out on you

14   The Ballad Of Red Buckets (04:00)

Carico i commenti...  con calma