So it must be that time of year then, when blasts from the past decide it’s time to dust off their mic stands and get back on tour, or maybe it’s to do with taxes; either way its unwanted. Now it’s the time for Sheffield’s resident big mouth Jon McClure AKA The Rev to take to the road again with his backing band the Makers.
Since 2007 McClure has been releasing indie pop with a baggy sensibility. Sadly Kasabian were doing a similar thing and the public liked them more. But now he’s back and its clear he’s been on a soul searching vibe as this new slew of tracks have a slightly prophetic psychedelic vibe to them. Again didn’t Kasabian do this in 2009?
The only real problem with the album, like a lot of Rev’s stuff, is that it’s all heavy handed. Opening track is a Steel City freak out, complete with echoey guitars, layered samples to create disorientation, woozy harmonies and abstract lyrics. At one minute fourteen it’s the shortest track on the album and acts like an introduction to his ‘new and crazy’ sound. Lead single ‘Black Widow’ is a bit of a stomper and features the Rev’s ‘classic’ vocal Northern drawl delivery. What he’s actually talking about is anyone’s guess. ‘Makin’ Babies’ is, as the title states, about making babies. “Everyone I know is making babies, what about us?” WOW! Such romance. Ladies please make a formal line, the Rev will see you now… Musically it’s about as subtle. Beatles-eqsue piano’s and harmonies wash over the track and while sugary strings fill in the gaps left by the Rev’s vocals.
From here on it doesn’t really matter what song you pick, they all follow the same pattern. Wishy washy guitars open the songs, then the Rev’s dulcet tones kick in, while the music gets all wackier and out there as the song progresses, until by the end it’s a full on psych out. Some of the songs are slower, but this doesn’t mean they are less tedious or hackneyed.
Mirrors is the sound of someone who has spent a long time listening to pysch and prog albums from the 60’s and 70’s and decided they’d have a bash. As the album was funded through Pledge Music this is a glorified vanity project by McClure, where he had complete creative control, and his word was law. If a label had been involved it probably would have been more focused and more cohesive. As it is, its 35 minutes of bad lyrics and over indulgence.
Reverend and the Makers – the comeback no one asked for, nor wanted….
[Rating:2.5]
