REVIEW: Sundays, Static And Silence (Geffen)
- Tim Kennedy
1997 has been the year of great expectations. Primal Scream, former Stone Rose John Squire's band Seahorses, Oasis (the greatest expectation of all), Radiohead, each strove to satisfy their expectant followings with new product. Amidst that motley lot emerge an unlikely comeback from yesteryear - The Sundays.
The Sundays' last offering - Blind - was in 1992, a not entirely satisfying successor to their stunning debut Reading Writing And Arithmetic of 1989. That debut was a glorious showcase for the ethereal, technically superb voice of Harriet. At times it recalled the Smiths at their best, at others the Cocteau Twins without the 'wibbly wibbly' lyrics. Can't Be Sure was surely *the* alternative anthem for those not in the thrall of The Stone Roses who debuted in the same period. That album has not aged a minute and still stands today as a modern classic.
Like expecting Oasis to come back sounding like Goldie or Prodigy, it is pointless to expect a Sundays album to not be anything but a downbeat, spooky, yet inspiring listening experience, where the little voice so arrests the ears that one strains to hear each line.
This record is actually a departure from the style of the first two albums in that it borrows from various musical styles, with each track varying quite a bit from the last. Also Harriet has become huskier of voice since the last outing. The intonation is the same however. Apparently there is now a little Sunday whose appearance has been part of the reason for delay...
At times the songs stray into funkier territory (though not funk in the sense that James Brown might understand it - more Maria McKee), at others a desolate take on Fleetwood Mac circa Rumours. The hallmark of Harriet's voice prevents the source of musical inspiration from taking centre stage however. Her voice belongs truthfully to folk, though here even country is tackled.
It is quite galling to think that the one good song the Cranberries ever did was a Sundays impression, upon which success a career spent on guitar histrionics was based. "Linger" of course was a good song, but listen to this album and you'll wonder why Dolores didn't stick to gentler themes like her mentors.
This is a thoughtful album of varied hue, and could be the surprise success of the autumn.
