New albums
Riveresque
Weddings, Parties, Anything
Mushroom Records
Whirligig
Things of Stone and Wood
Shock
Reviewed by Marcus Greville
Weddings, Parties, Anything have, in traditional Weddos style, produced another strong folky album full of emotion and working-class imagery.
Riveresque, their seventh album, contains no surprises and, unlike previous offerings, no stand-out tracks either. The change in the band's line-up has given it a more melodic feel than other albums, enhancing the strong Irish folk influence prevalent throughout WPA's work.
From the first track, "Houses", the stage is set for an album of storytelling and memory. Tied to each story is the emotional feeling that the band's songwriter, Michael Thomas, gives it. "Houses" reflects upon the instability of living share houses, tying it to how wonderful life could be "if you'd live with me".
This persistent style throughout the album gives it an unshakeable artificiality, marring it overall. Like earlier work, each song has a definite time and place, giving the Weddos their contemporary folk feel. Locations range from "a dust red Mallee town" to Devonport. The political feel of WPA's music is very understated, but a strong working-class feel is still evident as "the boys come in from BHP".
Overall, this album is solid WPA but a bit much of the same style.
Whirligig will come as a surprise to those acquainted with Things of Stone and Wood only through their mandolin and violin-laced singles such as "Happy Birthday Helen". Gone is the strong folk element and in is melodic guitar and strong pop sensibilities.
The band still are making use of catchy tunes and lyrics but have changed markedly their direction and style.
The first song and single from the album, "Blink", is an excellent example of the change in style. "Blink" has a distinctly British pop guitar feel, opening in a very Beatlesque manner and following through with a great tune.
The track "Hole in My Shoe" contains the most electric guitar heard from TOSAW, again in a pure pop format.
TOSAW have always had a masterful use of lyrics to convey feelings through their poems, and this album is no exception. Nothing profound will be found in Whirligig, but everyone will get a happy buzz from its contents.