The Indelicates

Band: The Indelicates

Album: Songs For Swinging Lovers

Release Date: April 12^th 2010

Band Members: Simon Indelicate, Julia Indelicate, Al Clayton, Ed Van Beinum

5 a Side are back from the holiday hiatus and kicking off 2011 by looking at The Indelicates as chosen by Nick. Hope you didn’t miss us too much.

And for once it seems we were smitten by the same track

Enjoy x

Nick

The Indelicates’ first album should have made them indie superstars. In American Demo they had a cache of excellent songs treading a line somewhere between punk and folk filled with searing guitar hooks, wistful piano melodies and the twin vocals of the two main protagonists of the band, Simon and Julia Indelicate. What made them stand apart from other talented indie songwriters were the caustic intelligence and the barbed wit of their lyrics.

Unfortunately, their record label became bust shortly after the debut’s release. Rather than seek to shackle themselves once again to what they saw as a dying industry, the Indelicates self released their second album Songs for Swinging Lovers, which is available to download on a pay what you want basis at corporaterecords.co.uk, their own digital platform. Once again the lyrics on this record are fantastic. Opener, Europe, rages against the decadence and staleness of a continent that has nothing left to prove. Mid tempo feminist anthem, Flesh, sees Julia sing ever so sweetly “hey doc, take your knife to me, scar my snatch into a smile” while Be Afraid of your Parents sees Simon crooning a warning about the tendency of some elements of the Left intelligentsia to view eastern fascism and anti Semitism as an acceptable alternative to the excesses of the West.

While openers Europe and Your Money are fast frenetic punk rockers, musically this album is slower and more varied than their previous efforts as the band clearly take advantage of being able to indulge in their taste for experimentation and lush orchestration without the constraints of a small, indie label. Savages, inspired by Brave New World, uses a slow build up of drum loops and synths; the morbidly terrifying Roses, a simple piano ballad for the most part, ends in a maelstrom of hiss and static while Jerusalem, a jibe addressed to the public school pedigree of our glorious coalition leaders, is performed with a jaunty and light touch which belies the jaded lyrical content.

I apologise for this review being so uncritical (and long in the context of this site). I fell in love with the Indelicates’ song writing, passion and intelligence nearly three years ago and have remained in thrall to them ever since. Hopefully other reviews should be able to give you a more balanced view but all I’ll say that this a fantastic album that you should download (and pay for if you can afford it) and listen to again and again.

Favourite songs: Jerusalem, Your Money

Sounds like: Dresden Dolls

If this album came round for dinner what would you serve it? Some type of Thai Curry. Spicy and demanding your attention but with a subtle blend of flavours.

Liam

Before hearing this album I had already had people come up to me and tell me I would enjoy the music of The Indelicates. They weren’t wrong.

The opener, ‘Europe’, instantly grabs your attention and the rest of the album does its best to hold it throughout. As the album’s title would suggest one of the main themes is the love shared between a man and a woman. There are dark undertones in here to, which is also suggested by the albums artwork. While listening to the record two distinct images come to mind. One of Dickensian decadence swinging from chandeliers and another of sepia toned video reels of lustful weekends in Paris.

The music is a mix of infectious pop and well orchestrated indie with the band often including just the right instrument at just the right time to add the icing to a song. There isn’t a weak track on the album at all. The varying vocals of the male and female lead hold their own on the solo songs and come together like lamb and mint sauce on their duets (perfectly for the culinary uncultured). Lyrically it's perfect. The Flesh is a prime example with truely creepy undertones while still being a full on love song. Brilliant.

It’s hard for me to review this album critically as it soon became apparent I was listening to it as a new found fan rather than an unbiased listener but that in itself should be a wonderful accolade. This album is definitely a keeper on my iPod for the foreseeable future it’s just a shame that it was never released in time to be the anthem for Bonnie and Clyde. Highly recommended if you're a fan of alternative pop, fast paced folk or modern indie.

Favourite song: Your Money

If this album came round for dinner what would you serve it? Banoffee pie. It’s delicious, sweet, sticky and can be thrown while swinging from a chandelier. Buckets of brandy for drinks

Rob

So we kick off with a funky yet sinister piano riff in the opening track Europe which is soon joined by an articulate vocal line from the female lead Julia Clark-Lowes. Throughout the album her child-like voice provides a great contrast to her male counterpart, working surprisingly well together. It's clear from listening to the insightful lyrics from the offset that they're both poets before musicians. To me this is their one unique selling point.

However, the theatricality goes too far. I find The Indelicates stylistically irritating. Europe is cocktail of Tom Lehrer and The Clash – an truly unforgivable concoction. Even before I read that Simon Clayton is the author of a musical, it was blindingly obvious that this kind of role would suit him. Roses and Be Afraid of Your Parents have the atmosphere and melodic progression of an Andrew Lloyd-Webber score.

A few well written songs to go with the idyllic lyrics... maybe. No more than that though.

Favourite track: Your Money

If this album came round for dinner what would you serve it? Liquid dinner. Maybe I'd like it more after a few drinks.

Steve

In keeping with an emergent theme of reviewing strange eccentric bands, the Indelicates has now splashed into my consciousness for the first time and is surprisingly good. The Sound is reminiscent of the Dresden Dolls and Songs for Swinging Lovers has no problem being aggressive, sarcastic and mesmerising.

The album starts off strongly with Europe, a cabaret song dominated by piano and shrill vocals. To a mainstream audience, this would undoubtedly be like placing barbed wire through your ears and flossing out your brain, but this harsh sound mixed with the barbed lyrics of Julia Indelicate works really well and sets the tone of the album perfectly. Following up is Your Money which offers a hard riff and self deprecating vocals, with a definite homage to raw 70's punk. Lyrically, this song is strong and keeps the aggression fresh.

With the two singers making a separate song each, it's fitting to blend them together for a duet, Love you Tania is sweetly sung by Julia yet has the backing of a bitter sounding, almost Robert Smith inspired, Simon Indelicate. These are definitely the stronger tracks of the album, but that is not to say that the rest are write offs, and special mention goes out to Roses and Be Afraid of Your Parents for sounding unique in an already gifted album.

All in all, Songs for Swinging Lover's is not easy listening by any measure, it's definitely stuck in a niche, but for those of you that can stomach the harsh sounds, you'll be generously rewarded.


If this album came round for dinner what would you serve it? Probably sweet and sour pork, just to try and get its critique on Asia.

Jamie

The Indelicates, like many recent British bands take inspiration from bands like The Smiths, Blondie and The Boom To

wn Rats, bands that were at their height of popularity during the early 1980’s. The band even sound like they would have come out of this era and one would think they are a little late, but the album does provide the listener with something fairly up-lifting and the use of a male and a female vocalist working together, rather than just one vocalist is a nice touch and sounds good.

As well as taking inspiration from the post-punk sound of the early 80’s, the album also has a theatrical feel to it and would probably work very well as the soundtrack to something like The Phantom of The Opera. This is noticeable right from the beginning of opener “Europe” which is purely piano and vocals for the intro but then combines with a more powerful post punk sound to give it a bit more of a kick. “Your Money” is the heaviest song on the album and it blends fast punchy verses with a more reflective and hearty chorus.

The heavy guitar creeps in occasionally in the rest of the album, but most of the songs are piano driven and follow on the theatrical style. While the style is set in stone for 90% of the album, the mood differentiates throughout and we have happy uplifting songs such as “We love you Tania” and “Ill” and slow and moody songs such as “Roses” and “Anthem for the doomed youth”. Occasionally the style changes a little bit as noticed in “Savages” which has a bit more of an electronic feel to it, especially towards the end of the song and “Sympathy for the devil” which has a country and folk style driven by an acoustic guitar. “Be afraid of Your Parents” is the most theatrical and has a lot of tempo changes to keep the listener interested.

While I’m not into Indie, I do feel The Indelicates have created a pretty decent concept album that could easily back its own musical, with what feels like a story being told. While the sound is a bit samey in some places the lyrics are generally pretty clever and the album will bring a smile to your face.

Favourite Song "Your Money"

If this album came round for dinner I would serve it? Smoked Salmon and boiled potatoes, a standard British Meal which provides a nice flavour but wouldn’t be as satisfying as a juicy Sirlion Steak.