THE LONG BLONDES
Someone to Drive You Home
Rough Trade
· Redundant nostalgia.
A full year after its U.K. release, Someone to Drive You Home won’t be a fresh sound for anyone with the ability to import music (that’s you, computer owners). Unfortunately, even those spinning the Long Blondes’ latest disc for the first time aren’t in for a revelatory experience, either.
The Sheffield group’s unmistakably Britpop-influenced sound (they share a hometown with Pulp) will charm anyone who remembers just how cool Britannia used to be, but that also ends up being the album’s downfall. It has a nearly guaranteed fanbase of Britpop aficionados, but they’ll also be the most bothered by its unoriginality. Kate Jackson’s vocals are loud and exciting while impressively maintaining composure, but won’t stand out to anyone who heard Elastica (or Sleeper, or Lush, or Echobelly… ) first. The guitar-led instrumentation is delightfully fast, energetic and carefree, but similarly unimpressive when stacked against influences like Pulp (or Blur, or Denim, or the Buzzcocks…).
Now, it isn’t that Drive You Home is a bad album – its energy and enthusiasm will be fetching even to those who wouldn’t feel the need to namedrop as many Britpop acts and influences as possible while describing it. It’s just that such a strict adherence to the styles of its inspiration prevents the album from feeling like anything more complicated or progressive than that – one big namedrop.
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