Luxembourg

Artist: The Bluetones
Label: Import [Generic]
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 5050294141229
ASIN: B00008XUTM

Release Date: 2004-02-17

Luxembourg

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Tracks:

Here It Comes Again
Fast Boy
Liquid Lips
You're No Fun Anymore
Big Problem
I Love the City
Never Going Anywhere
Little Bear
Code Blue
Turn It Up

Album Description

'Luxembourg' is the fourth studio album by the Hounslow-formed indie-guitar act whose sound is often compared to that of the Stone Roses. It follows 2000's 'Science & Nature' & was recorded at Raezor Studios in Wandsworth with Gordon Mills. Both sides of the single 'Fast Boy/Liquid Lips' are included. Ten tracks. Superior Quality. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Well, that's a surprise..........2005-06-13

Here it is, finally. After the first three reasonably mellow albums, I was expecting more of the same. I'm pleased to say that this is the perfect Bluetones album for those not-so-mellow moods.

The guitars are noticeably kicked up a few notches, the tempo rarely lags, and the vocals (along with the lyrics themselves) go to a new level: not necessarily darker, but angstier. I'd never expected to hear the relatively gentle-voiced Mark Morriss yelling into the mic like he does in songs such as "Liquid Lips."

The amped-up sound is unlike anything they have done before. Then again, The Bluetones have always been ones for experimenting with sound. So I don't cringe when I hear a harmonica among the electric guitars in "I Love the City," or hints of electronica at the beggining of the opening track, "Here it Comes Again." With few exceptions, these expansions into different sounds rarely seem out of place.

It's not perfect. Mark's voice doesn't seem as suited to this album as it does to the previous few. The songs are noticeably shorter than other albums, most likely due to the faster tempo. But the lyrics are still clever and catchy, and the effort throughout the album seems genuine.

That said, I feel a lot less guilty listening to this album than I do most of my punk/emo collection. No matter what their style evolves into, The Bluetones will never become mindless background music.

My two favorite tracks are probably "Never Going Nowhere," (reminiscent of their older work) about a stale relationship, and "Turn It Up," the album's somewhat dark but energetic closing track. Both will be stuck in your head for days. Happy listening!

A return to form.......2005-06-06

In this, the Bluetones' 4th album, they return to the form they seemed to have lost a little bit with Science and Nature. However, this album is different from its predecessors in the sense that it contains some departures from their sound, namely electronic experimentation. However, that being said, there are some great tracks on here. Liquid Lips, Fast Boy, Turn it Up, Code Blue, and Little Bear are all up to snuff. Even the opener, Here it Comes Again, while rather lightweight, is fun and enjoyable. Hopefully the Bluetones continue on in this direction.

Where did you go?.......2003-12-06

When the Bluetones burst onto the scene in 1996 they were lauded as being the heirs to the Stone Roses' vacant throne. 7 years later you'd be forgiven for thinking the band had gotten a little sidetracked along the way. However, they've now put out 3 albums of high quality, intelligent power pop and haven't lost a member or succumbed to drug addiction. Mind you, they haven't set the world on fire either and they release on their own record label, perversely independent and anti-business they might be the truest "punk" band in the UK.
This, their 4th album (not counting last years greatest hits compilation), however sees them move away from their jangle-pop days of old and rip a page from the punk handbook. The guitars clang, the rhythms stop and start and the lyrics are more direct than poetic. The Bluetones have never been scared of reinventing themselves before (previous albums have covered mexican-tinged rock and Kinks-esque nostalgia) and that this album changes their sound entirely won't come as a complete surprise to fans. The question is, is the album any good?
Thankfully the answer is a wholehearted "Yessir!!". The 'Tones take to the punk/emo sound very well, with rhythms and time changes that Fugazi would be proud of and guitar crunches that indicate someone bought the guys a copy of "Veni, Vidi, Vicious" in the 3 years since they last released an album... it's still possible to imagine Mark shuffling round the microphone as in days of old, but mostly he's shouting and not whispering anymore. In fact this album sits better with Idlewild and The Get Up Kids comparisons instead of the Stone Roses (debut album) plagerisms they're normally accused of.

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