Friday, February 09, 2007

The Chorus and the Broadcast


I’ve been listening to the new Earlies album The Enemy Chorus lately, and it’s growing on me. They had a lot to live up to after their debut, 2004’s These Were The Earlies, and at first listen it wasn’t doing it for me. But a few more listens down the line, and it’s beginning to work.

It’s quite familiar really. The classic Earlies’ psychedelic swirls, intense build-ups, lovely harmonies, and dubby production. The new one also checks Krautrock grooves and Stax soul. Sure, there’s nothing quite as good as Morning Wonder or Song for #3, but there’s still plenty of pleasures to be had. At the moment I’m thinking that it wanes a bit towards the end, but there’s a monumental rallying with closing instrumental Breaking Point, surely one of their best tunes yet. I reckon this is an album that’s going to get better with every spin.

Rather than posting a couple of tracks from The Enemy Chorus (I’ve done that already), here's a bigger and better taster in the shape of an ace 15 minute mix of the album’s tracks. It’s been put together by John Mark Lapham, The Earlies’ resident DJ and remixer, who’s the man responsible for a whole series of mixes called Secret Broadcasts, given out at gigs and posted on the internet over the last few years. This one's called (for obvious reasons) The Enemy Broadcast. It's good.

Download: The Earlies – The Enemy Broadcast

Buy The Enemy Chorus.

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