REVIEW: Charlatans U.K., Up To Our Hips
- Bob Gajarsky
The Charlatans U.K. have been kicking around the music world for more than 5 years. Jangly guitars, Hammond organs and lead singer Tim Burgess' distinctive voice helped, along with the Stone Roses, to define the Manchester sound. Take a look what has happened to that initial list of groups; Blur has turned towards the mod style of the late 60's; Happy Mondays have broken up, Stone Roses have yet to produce a followup disc of new releases, and countless bands have been signed and dropped by record labels. On the new release Up To Our Hips, the Charlatans return to the sound that helped catapult them to worldwide recognition.
The first track, "Come In Number 21", immediately lets the listener know the Charlatans have returned home. There's that organ again; those guitars; Burgess even throws in a few "Woo Woo's", a la the Stones "Sympathy for the Devil" for good measure. It is followed up by the year's longest title for a (U.K.) single, "I Never Want An Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever To Get There". There are backup vocals on this song, which isn't common in most of the group's work; but, like most of the twists in this album, they aren't bad modifications, just different ones. Just like its predecessor, however, the organ and guitar carry the song, with Burgess' singing ably complementing the music.
The first single, "Can't Get Out Of Bed", is almost reminiscent of light 1970's music, with the familiar guitar sound returning on the chorus. It's not a classic like "The Only One I Know", but those songs only come once in a group's existence. The title track, "Up To Our Hips", finds the band returning to more familiar ground of that there guitar and organ. The album doesn't have any surprised; even the instrumental "Feel Flows" stays within the band's area of expertise.
The Charlatans second release, Between 10th and 11th, marked a decidedly poor departure from the initial sounds of their first LP. Up To Our Hips sees the band return to the Manchester sound they made famous four years earlier, and is a must-get for any fan of the band's first work, Some Friendly or the jangly guitar sound which put Manchester, England back on the map.
