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'My Corduroyed Life' - Mark A's Journal
Here I go with another review/ blatant Naked Lounge plug...
Have fun,
M
Naked Lounge take a lot of shit. They've had to tolerate losing a biased Battle Of The Band competition where a popularity contest is more important than talent, they've not been discovered or signed despite the fact that they've seen vastly inferior bands get snapped up, and they've had to tolerate a so called fan saying they were shit to their faces when he was drunk (yeah, that was me).
So a year on, why do they still do it? Why do they gig, write, record independently, and soldier on? Because they fucking love it, that's why, and their latest CD, Way Past Midnight, reflects that.
Way Past Midnight is a two track, showcasing Way Past Midnight (the song formerly known as Threat) and Lying Is So Easy. After the wonderful Bedroom Trash CD which belted the listener with the anthems Perfect As You Are, Nugget, and In The Middle, they had a tough act to follow.
One thing that bugged me about Bedroom Trash was the Goth style cover. It did look cool, I can't deny that, but it didn't suit the band and their style. The back cover however did a little better, with a moodily lit picture of the band on the back. Way Past Midnight has a completely different style cover (see above) which dumps both the gothicness and the band pic, and it's great: a less serious, but artistically sound and kookily cool piece of artwork that reflects the band and their attitude. Top marks for that one!
The title track of Way Past Midnight is a rocky number which in the usage of the word 'baaaayyybyh!' in the chorus, really showcases the power of Josh's voice. As is regularly the case when any band has a particularly charismatic and powerful vocalist, the vocalist tends to be the one who gets all the attention. Despite the fact that Josh can sing like nothing I've ever heard before, to ignore the rest of the bands' talent and contribution would be criminal. From seeing them at their gigs, these guys are pros. Ultra-slick guitars from Paul, deep and powerful bass by Charlie, and Nick's stylish (almost showy) drumming back up the vocals to make this a very impressive track. The track itself is unashamed, in yer face, guitar riff a-plenty ROCK, and a very good example of that it is too.
Lying Is So Easy, the second track on the CD is slower, more ballady (is ballady a word?) number that could have crashed and burned, but doesn't. I say 'ballady', but those of us into, say, Tony Bennett, will still cringe: it's most definitely a rock ballad. It is definitely a very worthy track, and it works. A cynical (realistic?) subject matter is sung in a very different way to Josh's normal 'belt it out' style, which only goes to prove the guy's versatility. My only little niggle about Lying Is So Easy is that the powerful ending that one normally gets at gigs is slightly weakened by Josh's dub not being loud enough on the track at that particular point. This, however, is made up for by the cool keyboard fadeout thing that you don't get at the gigs.
So, all in all, another triumph and praiseworthy effort by a band that should bloody well make it soon. How many more belter sampler CDs do they need to do to get noticed?!
Naked Lounge take a lot of praise. They've got rave reviews on their website, their talent was recognised by the Manchester Academy and rewarded by a headlining spot, and some random nutter blogs about them as often as he possibly can (yeah, that would be me).
So a year on, I'm convinced that if they continue to gig, write, record independently, and soldier on, they'll get the recognition they deserve. It's all because they fucking love it, that's why, and their latest CD, Way Past Midnight, reflects that.
Way Past Midnight is available from Piccadilly Records
Naked Lounge Website
Manchester Academy Website
Current mood:
good.Current music: Way Past Midnight by Naked Lounge (funnily enough!).