Not without good cause, I’d wager, is there a song called “Good Stuff”, on “When The World Stood Still”.
“Good stuff, it rips to the seam. I’m trying man, trying man to live the dream. Good stuff, there’s only one life. Shout out now what makes you get high,” sings Wille Edwards.
Now, on one hand you can just enjoy the track, all slide guitar and hedonistic rock n roll – and that’s cool. That’s what it is.
But on the other….well…..this is a pandemic record. Written about that time when the world truly stopped and no one knew what the hell was going on. And more than that, this is a record about finding your own way through it all. Celebrating all that you are and what makes you “good stuff”, if you will.
That might sound a bit deep, but if we can all agree that while it might not seem particularly different on the surface as we return to things in 2022, then nothing and no-one is the same as it was back then, then it might help my thesis.
And that’s not a bad analogy for “When The World Stood Still” either.
WATB are forever pushing forward. It was interesting to read Edwards talking about AC/DC in interviews for “…Stuff” because as much as I love Angus and the lads, then this bunch of Bandits is about as far away from that as you can get.
Yet, even allowing for that, “…Still” smashes the glass ceiling and isn’t fussed by boundaries. “Caught In The Middle” is opener in this “new normal”. And if ever a song was going to sum up a record, then its this one. Metal riffing, rapping, but there, underneath it all, is folk undercurrent. The band will always have that, its their anchor. They just aren’t weighed down by it.
“I’m Alive” addresses depression – and if you know about that then empathy is going your way – but that only tells a little of the story. Rather, its instrumental bit, massive, sprawling, almost prog. Six and a half minutes, you imagine it’s going to be a centre-piece of the live shows.
It’s interesting that WATB are letting songs go where they may on this. “Without You” is well over eight minutes. It builds, it broods. It wanders, almost rambling over the Cornish coast. Edwards is screaming for some guidance, it seems.
They seem inspired here. Possibly because they tucked a bucket list item off and recorded it the historic Sawmills Studio with John Cornfield (“Definitely Maybe” is just one of many that have been done there). The surrounds, a little like Muscle Shoals in the US, I guess, seem to have rubbed off on them.
“We’re In This Together” talks about the divisions in society, and has perhaps taken on even different meanings since, given that the politicians making the rules didn’t consider obeying them. It’s not a political song, though, more a human one. And, given the surrounds, its worth noting that there’s a bit of early Oasis in these grooves.
WATB are a band that exists to play live and “Will We Ever” questions whether they ever will. You can hear the desperation in perhaps the one that links old “Wille” with the new. They follow this up with the title track. It’s truly gorgeous. It also wonders whether the pause in life for reflection might be a good thing in the end. It’s that type of record.
The fluidity of the collection is underlined by the funk infused “Move Too Fast” – yes they’ve had soul in their work before, but never like this, a vibe that “Broken Words” carries on. If most of them aren’t political, then I’d assume this one is and that B***s J*******n (this website will not use his name) is in the crosshairs as the target.
“Daylight” changes the feel. A feelgood rocker, the light at the end of the tunnel. Written about Wille’s second daughter (his first born was on the last album) it’s another that you hope finds its way into the set.
Then for one last time, it finds the extremes. “Refuge” has a real energy, an anger too, given that it directly addresses the lack of respect that musicians were given in the pandemic (if I may add something personal, then my own struggles with mental health in 2019/20/21 were made slightly more bearable with this website, so I get it), but this is balanced by the incredible, gentle, “Solid Ground”, which ends things. Almost floating off into the ether while you chase its ghost, while a Mark Knopfler-ish lead plays. This is a unique band, it really is.
An album that seems to be bursting with honesty and integrity deserves some in return. So here it is. When I first heard it, I wasn’t overly keen. Then I listened properly. “When The World Stood Still” is, rather like the pandemic itself, a confusion, a roller-coaster of emotions. Unlike the last couple of years, though, it is a thing of real beauty.
Rating 9.5/10
