The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love Review
Posted by Paul Schofield on 09.22.2009
The result of throwing TV On The Radio and Glasvegas into a blender. Minus the murder charges.
I hate the BBC. There, I said it. Apart from Match Of The Day and Five Live Sport, it’s got very little going for it anymore. Eastenders is one long merry-go-round of failed marriages, poor child actors and people being hit by cars at frequent intervals. Why anyone moves to Walford is beyond me. The Beeb also lost Neighbours to Channel Five of all places, and Garth Crooks is the worst football (I will never call it soccer, sorry American overlords) pundit in the history of manwomankind. BBC radio is a joke. Chris Moyles needs to be shot in the face with a gun that fires hammers. Big ones. Maybe even a hammerhead shark. That would be amusing. Don’t get me started on Scott Mills. For the North American people who are still reading this, here in the UK if you buy a TV, you have to pay for a TV licence, of which every penny goes to the BBC, hence debates about its worth. But there is one thing that the BBC does well – its Sound Of (insert year here) lists, where they predict who will be big in the coming year in music. We may not like who they suggest, but for the most part they get it right. Except for this year, where they said that someone called Lady Gaga might make a name for his/herself. I know what you are all thinking. If Gaga is on its period, can it use its penis to block the flow?
That dog looks scared.
Meanwhile, The Big Pink also made it onto the Sound Of 2009 list, and of the nominees they have been somewhat overlooked. Well, when one of the other nominees turns out to be Cartman’s mom, that’s understandable. But can the BBC justify their extortionate license fee? Will The Big Pink live up to Dot Cotton’s hype? And why is it only now that I have spotted a potential gag for a Big Pink/Gaga penis joke? All this and more in the coming paragraphs.
I hear you crying out to me, “Who are The Big Pink? And why are they so Big and Pink?” They are the spectacularly named Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell. Before they were The Big Pink, they were both running their own record labels. They only released their first single in late 2008, so for them to be noticed in time for the BBC’s list can only bode well for their quality. They have also opened for one of my favourite bands TV On The Radio on a European tour. So far so good. In the probable words of Marilyn Manson, “let’s get stuck in.”
A Brief History Of Love
1. "Crystal Visions" 5:48
2. "Too Young to Love" 4:09
3. "Dominos" 3:46
4. "Love in Vain" 4:08
5. "At War with the Sun" 4:11
6. "Velvet" 4:12
7. "Golden Pendulum" 4:37
8. "Frisk" 4:42
9. "A Brief History of Love" 4:53
10. "Tonight" 3:35
11. "Countbackwards from Ten" 4:08
Milo Cordell made this statement about the album, possibly whilst in the bath with an inflatable boat and twelve pairs of slippers.
“Every song is a love song to some degree, about every different aspect of love... The good, the bad, the boring, the exciting, the dreams, the nightmares, the whole thing, and I guess that's what encompasses the whole album, and we have a song called "A Brief History of Love" so it's apt.”
I’m expecting a song about having your tyres slashed by your ex, who then sleeps with your pet iguana. First song “Crystal Visions” intrigues with its eerie opening, and then delivers with a Glasvegas-esque feedback drenched track, but not quite as anthemic as their Scottish counterparts. Christ on a bike, it’s pretty good. It’s dark and moody, like an ignored teenager, only with less acne. I’m guessing this would be the bad/nightmare part of love, but I’m hoping there are more nightmarish songsmithery to come. “Too Young To Love” is a grower, its music like Music For The Jilted Generation for the current era, only with 90s indiepop choruses over the top. Suede, anyone? It screeches to an end (literally) leaving you with a real WTF? feeling. See how I know the lingo of the streetz?
“Dominos” is a real head turner, from its instantly singable chorus to the music that seems to pay homage to TVOTR with its heavy percussion and tunefulness. It’s certainly their most accessible song so far, which is backed up by it being a single. Press play on the video below to hear the song. Isn’t technology wonderful? Alternatively, download it illegally and scream the chorus into the night sky whilst wearing your foster parents pyjamas.
Nooooooo! They exploded the ice ladies! They were hot! And is that drummer wearing thigh-length socks? Down boy.
“Love In Vain” would be the heartbreak song, as if you didn’t guess that from the title. Regular readers of my reviews know that I love a good ballad. I also cried whilst watching Homeward Bound at the age of 14, though I managed to hide it pretty well by faking a coughing fit brought on by eating a particularly crunchy Monster Munch. If this song was a flavour of crisp, it would be salt and vinegar. Plain enough for everyone to like, but with a hint of acid. Fortunately not xenomorph blood acid, that would be disastrous. It’s an OK song, and a song that has to be on the album if they are to encompass the entire love spectrum, but I fear that the ballad style doesn’t suit them. “At War With The Sun” is much better, uptempo, lively. This is the Royster’s T-Bone Steak flavour song that I have been waiting for. Warning: the T-Bone Steak flavour crisp is not to be dipped in anything other than cheese sauce. A step back in the right direction after stepping on a banana skin-shaped pebble.
“Velvet” is a ballad that works for them, mostly because it gets funkier than a fox at a discotheque. The video is sick, particularly towards the end. More lingo for you here, because sick = good apparently. I wouldn’t really know, I still go around saying, “Hey yo” to people with a toothpick behind my ear.
It’s an absolute tune, I have to say. The influence of TVOTR is more evident here than anywhere else, but it’s a separate entity of its own. This is the dreamlike side of the love spectrum, and it’s pretty amazing.
“Golden Pendulum” has a savage opening, like industrial drum n bass, before simmering a little to become part dance song, part hybrid of everything else that has come before it on the album. It’s just interesting to listen to. I don’t know where it falls under the love spectrum, but it’s probably somewhere around the edges of everything. “Frisk” would be enough to make your granddaddy keel over in shock. It’s not how Vera Lynn used to do it. Mind you, she used to blow sailors for a shilling. It’s a return to the darkness of the opening tracks, and it works. Title track “A Brief History Of Love” is similarly dark, but in a more traditional style. It’s bleak and desolate, like the rest of Chris Brown’s career. But it’s another very good song. “Tonight” is a disappointment, however. Musically it doesn’t match up to the rest of the songs, and the lyrics are disenchanting as well, particularly the chorus which borders on annoying. “Countbackwards From Ten” makes sure the album goes out on a good note though, mostly because it sounds a little like The Pixies. There’s hope in this song, and it’s a fitting way to end the album, an album which for the most part has been a joy to listen to.
The 411: For me, this album is a concept album, from the darkness of being alone to gradual love, and the inevitable crashing down of that love, before an end where lessons have been learned and all that jazz. As an album with this concept, it works very well. Some of the songs are very good indeed. However, there are a couple of songs on the album that hold it back from greatness. It’s a shame, as this had the potential to be a masterpiece, as it is it’s still a damn fine listen, but you can’t help but think what might have been.
