I’m into my second week of having one plugged ear. For a music enthusiast this is high on the list of illnesses to avoid, but the doctor assures me it is temporary, so we soldier on. The next campaign finds us in…London!
Disc 1930 is…Truth is a Beautiful Thing
Artist: London Grammar
Year of Release: 2017
What’s up with the Cover? The band, wearing non-descript expressions to match their non-descript clothes on what is, overall, a very non-descript cover.
The overlapping As and Ms in the band’s name is as exciting as we get here.
How I Came To Know It: I first discovered London Grammar in 2021 when they released “Californian Soul” (reviewed back at Disc 1522).
“Truth is a Beautiful Thing” was just me drilling into their back catalogue after the hook was set.
How It Stacks Up: I have four London Grammar albums which, as of right now, is all of them. Of those I put “Truth is a Beautiful Thing” in at #2.
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
London Grammar are a pop trio that have learned the valuable lesson that a wall of sound doesn’t have to sound busy. Done right, it can be uplifting and anthemic.
It helps to have a great vocalist, and London Grammar is blessed with one of the best in Hannah Reid. Effortlessly powerful in even the highest ranges, Reid never feels like she’s striving to a hit a note, and reminded me favourably of Florence Welch or Loreena McKennitt, but with an even more pure pop tone.
Many of the songs start on a note that most singers couldn’t land on their best day and then climbs from there. Each time you think she can’t land something another layer up, there she is, looking down from the heights of another octave, lightly warbling at you. She’s like a brightly coloured bird that knows you can’t reach the branch it’s on and so feels safe enough to show off.
This is the record’s not-so-secret weapon, but the band wisely builds songs around her that showcase her instrument. A lot of the rest of these songs are slow jam beats and basslines, giving you a launch point that let’s you appreciate just high these songs end up climbing. The arrangement doubles down on the effect, keeping the midrange elements a bit further back in the mix. The effect pulls you in both directions with a languorous stretch of sound. It’s the auditory version of a cat stretching its back at full extension.
As for what is going on lyrically, I had a hard time paying attention. The songs are very good at artfully repeating a refrain, but more for an emotional resonance than for a narrative purpose. “Everyone Else” is a fine example, with a slow jam dance back beat, and Reid repeatedly singing
“Everyone else knows why
Everyone else knows why
Look what you’ve done.”
Sure there are other lines, but there aren’t many and they mostly just evoke primal images like fire and colours and storms. Lyrically driven as I often am, I surprisingly had no complaints, as the evocative imagery and the power of Reid’s vocals make everything feel more important than it is anyway.
While the record doesn’t always hold long narrative stories, the imagery is strong, and I didn’t mind not always feeling like there would be a story to every song. “Bones of Ribbon” probably has something going on at the beach (i.e., there’s sand), but it is more how the song makes you feel than where it takes place.
If there is any drawback it would be that the music can feel obvious in places, but even then it is a good obvious. A few basic piano chords can do wonders, particularly when the ambient sound behind it helps it echo through the tune. I didn’t find myself wishing for more empty space between the notes, because the band wisely uses only a few ingredients, blows them out to their greatest effect, and then stops adding stuff. I found myself thinking fondly of Enya records of yesteryear and wondering if these talented kids had found any in their parents’ record collections. I hope so.
Most of all, this record made me chill out. On my way to work I was caught behind a car going 20 in a 30 zone. Kilometers. I shit you not. Yet, driving behind this villainous commuter, while listening to “Who Am I” I was perfectly happy to get my chill on and take Hannah’s advice to “try my best/to fit in with the rest”. Good tidings to you, fellow traveler!
Best tracks: Wild Eyed, Hell to the Liars, Everyone Else, Bones of Ribbon, Who Am I
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