_____________________________________________________________________________
::k4:
a r t i s t :: The View
t i t l e :: Ropewalk
d a t e :: 2015-00-00
l a b e l :: Cooking Vinyl
g e n r e :: Indie
s o u r c e :: CD
b i t r a t e :: 261 kbps avg
e n c o d e r :: LAME 3.98.4 -V 0
t r a c k s :: 10
p l a y t i m e :: 35:05
s i z e :: 65.66MB
tracklist
1 Under The Rug 3:36
2 Marriage 3:31
3 Living 3:14
4 Talk About Two 3:31
5 Pychotic 3:38
6 Cracks 2:59
7 Tenement Light 3:38
8 House Of Queue's 4:06
9 Penny 3:19
10 Voodoo Doll 3:33
releasenotes
That the release of æRopewalkÆ was delayed while frontman Kyle Falconer
checked into the Hope Clinic in Thailand û the same rehab facility as Pete
Doherty û to kick an addiction to drugs and alcohol, will do little to erase
the old 2007 perception of The View as æLiberteensÆ - four caners who
worshipped the ground that Doherty had passed out on. ItÆs a shame, because
the Dundonian band have proved themselves willing to chance their arm
creatively û no more so than here.
On their fifth album, producer Albert Hammond Jr û assisted by his longtime
StrokesÆ collaborator Gus Oberg û provides kindling for The ViewÆs fire. His
first job as boss was to rip up the demos Kyle and co brought. Instead tracks
were built up in the studio. The result is an album teeming with hooks and
melodies butting up against countermelodies, and a crisp, vibrant pop
production. æUnder The RugÆ û the first ever song penned by guitarist Pete
Reilly û starts off with a quintessentially Strokes-y guitar line before
bursting into a summery, jubilant Levellers tune, while æMarriageÆ is a
skeletal quasi-R&B number with a bass that recalls TigaÆs æSunglasses At
NightÆ. Hammond Jr saw KyleÆs vocals as The ViewÆs secret weapon; and he
buries songs in a terrine of layered vocals, such as on æTalk About TwoÆ û
Brylcreemed doo-wop straight out of John WatersÆ Cry Baby.
Meanwhile, æPsychoticÆ seemingly deals most explicitly with KyleÆs demons.
Over a track that sounds like Simple Minds covering The Cure, he laments about
being high, concluding ôthe stuff you call your saviour is really killing
youö. Steeped in sleet-skied squalor, æCracksÆ is the closest the album comes
to the ramshackle View of yore, and sees bassist Kieren Webster barrel through
a punky torrent that recalls early Jamie T in his tar-thick Tayside brogue û
youÆre more likely to decipher BabymetalÆs lyrics.
The diversity continues with æTenement LightÆ. Channeling the lip-curling glam
strut delivery of Marc Bolan, itÆs like T Rex fronting the Ramones û before
partway through the periscope of The BeatlesÆ 'Yellow Submarine' pops up for a
psych diversion. While the barometer of public taste has shifted from the days
when working class boys-with-guitars were rife, you have to applaud The View
for updating their legacy without resorting to dΘjα-View or an EDM
chart-landgrab.
www.theviewareonfire.com
_____________________________________________________________________________
The_View-Ropewalk-(COOKCD615)-CD-2015-k4