Life in the Loading Bay
Album | Shriekback By Jim AllenU.K. post-punks’ late-career peak.
Shriekback was one of the more intriguing bands to emerge from England's ‘80s post-punk boom, blending new wave quirkiness with funky grooves and creepy, brainy lyrics. Like many of their peers, they petered out by the end of the decade. But against all odds, Shriekback's 21st century reunion found them not only revitalized but arguably better than ever. The latter-day lineup improved with each successive album, and Life in the Loading Bay is a late-career peak easily as arresting as the band's best ‘80s work. Mainman Barry Andrews' don't-go-down-in-the-basement vocal delivery has never has such a gleefully visceral edge, as he digs into deliciously dark but thrillingly colorful imagery that ranges from playfully absurdist ("I've got no kind of plan, like Hiawatha in a waffle van") to cathartically existentialist ("The mighty waves of nothing much are washing over me.") Meanwhile, longtime guitarist/co-vocalist Carl Marsh and company create irresistible undulations that range from the garage-rock-goes-anthemic "Now I Wanna Go Home" to the almost gospel-tinged "Make It Mauve." It all goes to show that "mature" doesn't have to be a synonym for "humdrum."
-
Music Review
Let Love In
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -
Music Review
Life Is A Grand
Henry Badowski -
Music Review
Just Woke Up
Peter Blegvad
| Shriekback: Critical Contemporaries | |
|---|---|
