Cormac and the boy search for the light
Let’s have a show of hands.
Come on, admit it, we’ve all been there. Stuck in a rut, with sod all clue how to get out of it. Maybe you’ve done the same job for ten years and have a desperate longing to be somewhere – hell, anywhere – else.
So what do you do? Well you could start a music website (MV of course denies this is anything to do with what we did….) or in the case of The Answer you rip up the rule book and start again.
Of course, being in a rock n roll band isn’t a job and that’s not to say that Cormac and the lads don’t enjoy what they do, but there’s a definite feeling they decided it was time for a change here.
We can only speculate, but perhaps it was the tenth anniversary of their debut record that did it. “Rise” – as brilliant as it is – has been something to live up to over the years. Indeed, only on last year’s wonderful “Long Live The Renegades” album did they come up with anything close to its majesty.
“Solas” – the Gaelic word for light – is as different from that as can be. In fact, frankly, you are about halfway in, with the swampy blues of “Being Begotten” before you come across anything remotely The Answer like at all. The true irony of this is that “…Begotten” is one of the weakest songs here, it broods, without really going anywhere. Elsewhere, they fairly crackle with real ideas and freshness.
Take the title track, which kicks things off. It doesn’t sound like The Answer ever have before. Cormac doesn’t even sound like Cormac, instead it sounds like a trip hop song from about 1994 (no joke!) but with a real dark guitar line. They’ve already revealed the Latin infused “Beautiful World” – written with Massive Attack collaborator Neil Berridge, and although it takes a few listens to really hit home, when it does, there’s real joy to be found.
As a metaphor for the album itself you won’t find a better one.
“Battle Cry” with its Gaelic chanting in its uplifting chorus is a real, slow burning, highlight and the synth heavy “Untrue Colour” doesn’t half sound like U2 circa “The Fly”, while “In This Land” is all shimmering acoustics and an appreciation, you assume, of Irish culture from Van Morrison to Rory Gallagher and everyone else (including Alex Higgins).
Then, someone flicks a switch and The Answer are back to being The Answer again. “Left Me Standing” complete with its Thin Lizzy twin guitars and trademark Answer pummelling chorus is ostensibly a tale of unrequited love (again not a subject that MV has any knowledge about….) but it’s about so much more – you sense it’s the band saying “yeah look we can still be awesome at this if we want to” and they are.
“Demon Driven Man” gets itself around the campfire and sounds a bit like Whiskey Myers for a dance about, while “Real Life Dreamers” is a big old bluesy ballad and tremendous fun and the female vocals from Fiona O’Kane elevate it beyond the norm and “Tunnel” has a kind of Led Zep acoustic feel.
Ultimately, “Solas” is a brave and superb record. Whether it’s a record by The Answer, only history will judge. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have tried to fulfil their creativity, though, and who knows? It may inspire others to take a leap.
Now, on a totally unrelated point, where’s the website for Total Jobs and where’s a girl we used to know’s phone number…..? Actually, nah, we’ll probably just listen to “Solas” again.
Rating 8/10
