Madness
(Yep Roc)
It's been nearly 10 years since they've hit us with an album of original material (although there's clearly something to be said for The Dangerman Sessions Vol. 1, which found them paying tribute to a handful of their favorite ska and reggae songs as well as "Lola"). So forgive them if they're overflowing with ideas on this horn-fueled concept album - "an audio guide to the greatest city on earth," as they call it.
There's even an overture, the aptly titled "Overture." And if most songs are closer in spirit to "Our House" than "One Step Beyond," well, there's no shame in that. At this point, they're probably better at writing post-Ray Davies thinking-person's Brit-pop, best exemplified by the bittersweet "Sugar and Spice." It begins with a wistful verse about the type of love one tends to fall in at the tender age of 16, then follows the clearly smitten couple through the hopeful early days of marriage ("a second-hand fridge and a washing machine") to a Motown-flavored chorus whose upbeat rhythms can't conceal the sadness of "Sugar and Spice," everything was so nice. Now it's just not the same."
Other highlights range from "Idiot Child," a barbed character sketch whose singalong chorus could pass for a musical cousin of "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, to the album-closing title track, a shape-shifting epic that seems intent on cramming every bit of social commentary one might care to make on England into a 10-minute pop song.
Standout Tracks: "Sugar and Spice," "Idiot Child" A. WATT.
