Angel Gateway. Driving bass and drums. Solid heavy guitar riffing with a couple of guitar solos thrown in for free the first fairly standard and the outro clashing . Shows the pedigree of melodious punk rock and roll. Great intro to the band. Great lyrics of being out of time with those around you, or are they out of step with the rest of us?
Burying the Bones. Simpler more basic punky tune but no less enjoyable harking back to New York CBGBs. Great throbbing bass perfectly driving the riff along with crashing cymbals and the guitar a step behind. A dark story about nasty skulduggery delivered with menacing vocals.
Fifteen Different Ways. Slower rock and roll with a simpler lyric telling us the singer is OK baby. But is he really? And what are the fifteen different ways - I need a bit more detail to sort my own life out, baby. Is it just the x-ray sight? Great lead up to the ending...
Charlemagne. Great bass intro which I could have listened to for a few more bars, or minutes, before the guitar comes in but that just my personal taste. Steady rock in a 70s style with slow drums, running bass and crashing guitar rather than full on riffing. Nice n sleazy. Not sure he was the King of Spain but am sure somewhere in there the truth will out given the singer's in depth reading of history.
Criminale. Echoey slightly off kilter disorientating guitars soaring above the rhythmic drums and heavy bass. This one is stripped back but with the same sleazy vibe both musically and lyrically and vocally. Until the end which becomes more frantic before a classic cymbal shaking crescendo. Mirror mirror my mirror ball is a great lyric and the ball will go to you this weekend...
Gothic. Starts as it means to go on with a twanging bent guitar which hits us intermittently throughout the song. The bass powers us on with the odd running solo. Reminiscent of early The Stranglers without the keyboards but that's covered by guitar solos which aren't allowed to get out of hand being grounded by the bass and drums bringing the guitar back to repetitive clashing riffs. No guitar heroes allowed here - this is punk rock! Bass runs allowed though of course. A highlight for me.
Burning the Night. Continuing the pub rock punk vibe in a straighter style than Gothic but nonetheless a bright ditty with a harsher vocal. Less sleaze more violence promised. Echoey guitar back filling being an intro to a bit of guitar soloing which is acceptable as last time out wasn't allowed. Another driving ending.
Freakshow. Right. That's enough rock and roll. Back to sleazy slow riffing driving bass solid drumming drawled dark lyrics perfectly encapsulating the fascination and repulsion that is the freak show. And a shout out to the dark side of American freak (as in hippy) rock as the summer of love fell apart.
Not Enough. Guitar intro readies us for a brighter song at least musically if not with the strangled at times snarled lyrics. Steady repetitive guitar riff underpinned by drum and bass pushing the song along at a good pace. We're leaving west coast darkening skies eastwards through the mid west industrial always rocked out getting sleazy by the end heading towards punk east coast style.
Off the Rails. Blues intro we're freight hopping east through the southern States. A great piece of travelling blues with a story of unrequited love on the tracks. Bringing us down to earth from Not Enough teaching us it's not about the journey but the destination and if that's no good man you gotta make another journey into the world of love.
TV21. Shake off the blues and get back into the rhythm. A great slice of R&B (old style I mean) with proper drum and bass (again, old style), blues guitar throughout, soaring solo breaks then coming back down to earth and spat lyrics dark in nature with tables turned and I don't mean 33 rpm. Another driving ending and classic finale with a bit of wah to finish. Lovely.
Saviour. Now we're moving back towards the harsher end of pub rock heading into punk. Simpler pumping song shoutier throaty lyrics and guitar breaks that are less Eric Clapton and more Captain Sensible. Just what the doctor ordered.
Arabic. Another enticing short intro with cymbals and guitar before tribal drums then hopping bass lead us towards the north African style guitar riff. Before slipping into rock riffing and head nodding and just the ticket if you've indulged in the lyrical matter...
Win or Die. Drummer showing off at last to start us off before bass and guitar push us onwards into an energetic punkiness with a classic lyric forewarning us of the rest of the song content of alcohol and guns and illegal drugs. No messing about with obscure lyrics to end the album. Half way through the bass has a solo rudely interrupted by the guitar but we all know who wins out despite the mix turning down the bass volume. And a very classic ending to end what is a very fine album. If the ending's great then that's what the punters will remember.
What a journey; from British pubs sleazing out to the west coast of America back east by train and ending up back where we started via a short detour to north Africa. By now our intrepid trio have covered a lot of ground and give us an appropriately classic ending neatly bringing together all the strands of their music and lyrics. Dark Matters indeed...
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