Deacon Blue A New House
Classic Pop September 2014
Album Review - A New House
Their last album, in 2012, was called The Hipsters. Whether the irony was
intended is questionable, but Deacon Blue have never been cutting edge. Wildly
successful, of course, but fashionable? Never. Yet they have always been
consummate craftsmen of that special Scottish sound that emerged in the
mid-Eighties — just as they did — with bands such as Love & Money, Del Amitri
and The Silencers, then continued with Travis, and indeed still survives today,
if to a lesser degree.
The fact that the band was named after a song by Steely Dan, another act who
arguably rank finesse above ingenuity, confirms their priorities, and A New
House maintains their carefree but nevertheless tender nature, its songs
seemingly delighting in their easy-going existence. Whether tastemakers approve
is of little concern here: like (especially) Fran Healy, whose voice is
remarkably similar — or, indeed, Guy Garvey, at least in his emotive qualities —
Ricky Ross simply wants to share his experiences in a gentle, benevolent fashion
that, to use a suitably timeless Phrase warms the cockles of your heart.
On A New House — only their second album since 2001's Homesick — that means 11
amiable, honest and sanguine songs. If that sounds banal, then move on, but
tales of ordinary life don't have to be average. Against an energised backdrop
of piano, tumbling drums, Lorraine McIntosh's modest harmonies and a triumphant
tongue twister of a chorus, Bethlehem Begins questions whether it's better to
work on relationships or simply overlook their shortcomings: "Just how far we
can go without working on the ending?" The title track, meanwhile, unexpectedly
addresses the building of homes in the green belt — and the associated new
starts and regretful nostalgia — with the same sense of measured optimism
evident on Hothouse Flowers' classic People album (from 1990). Even a song
concerning the weather — March, which offers a rare edge thanks to its prominent
guitars —communicates a recognisable sense of joy.
By the time it's all over, following Remember Every Single Kiss — which starts
out like The Blue Nile, but ends with Deacon Blue's typically resilient optimism
— you'll just want to hug them... whether they're hipsters or not. ww
Single Review - A New House
The bands name is familiar, while I cannot place them to a particular song, this
has classic, from the tone of the harmonies they could have started in 1966 or
1986. My own taste is towards something rather more contemporary but for the
acoustic pop style this is a pretty song - If it were a new house then it would
be tastefully built.