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Review
While British indie music remains at the mercy of boom and bust hype cycles and the vagaries of fashion – just how dated do The Libertines sound now? What happened to Klaxons’ second album? – it’s quite possible that the greatest achievement of Brighton’s British Sea Power is to have something approximating a stable, modest, ‘normal’ career. Viewed fondly by the music press but never hyped to the heavens, making accessible music but clearly unburdened by the desire to write a hit, eccentric but never preposterous, BSP’s three previous albums proper have each scored strong reviews and incrementally higher chart positions and fourth set Valhalla Dancehall seems profoundly unlikely to buck that trend.
Mixing the sort of luminescently sinister ballads that have stood the band in good stead throughout their career with chaotic, colourful smears of guitar rock that break with the sepia tones of 2008’s Do You Like Rock Music?, this is an album that neither treads water nor reinvents the wheel. Instead, it sees BSP continue their stately, unruffled progress.
It’s the band’s dense, oblique lyricism that’s generally prevented their oft-anthemic guitar rock seeming regressive, but on tracks like Who’s in Control?, Georgie Ray and Living is So Easy the band warp the music to match the words; stormy, elastic squalls of incandescent sound that lack the hooky polish of the band’s early material, yet seethe and churn with greater force. "Sometimes I wish protesting was sexy on a Saturday night!" roars vocalist Hamilton on Who’s in Control? before pummelling drums and screeds of feedback obliterate the song’s vestigial structure; there’s something of the roiling disorder we’ve seen on the UK’s streets of late to the track, music to bother royalty to.
It’s thrilling stuff, so it’s a shame Valhalla Dancefloor has a flat-ish final third: Heavy Water is a moving closer, but the preceding Once More Now is a pretty staid 10 minutes – if the band wanted an epic finale, they’d have been much better served including the gorgeous Bear from their recent Zeus EP. Still, that record isn’t totally neglected: the stifling Mongk II (a reworking of the EP’s Mongk) is a foreboding tour de force, buzzing with dread, the band’s most powerful song to date.
--Andrzej Lukowski
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
What is it about some albums that you like them but never quite grow to love them? British Sea Power's Mercury nominated "Do you like rock music" (2008) is clearly massively regarded by Amazon reviewers and with tracks like "Waving flags" its hard not to be impressed by the epic grandeur of it all. Yet as an album it has been a relative stranger to the turntable in this dez rez over the past two years. As such approaching "Valhalla Dancehall" the new album by the impressive Brighton indie rock band generated mixed feelings, not least with what is pretty poor artwork adorning the cover. After listening to the album on repeat some of these doubts are still there, although this is an album which will undoubtedly grow with repeated listens and it has those sure tell tale signs that suggest it could be a real "stayer".
Certainly "Valhalla Dancehall" is a nice blend of anthems which deserve a rather large stadium to be fully appreciated combined with pop songs like "Georgie Ray" which owe some debt to David Bowie and actually nod a wink to Coldplay. It all starts splendidly with the huge rocker "Whose in control" which deserves a massive sprawling crowd in a gigantic summer festival to chant along to its infectious chorus, huge riffs and overpowering guitar work. It will literally knock the plastic pineapple off the top of the television and bring crashing down the ducks off the wall; it deserves to be a huge hit and will grow to be loved by discerning rock fans. Another song falling into this category is the brilliant pop orientated "Observe the skies" which will click the "repeat" button in your brain and have you singing it on loop within your head. Other fine moments include the gentle bubbling single "Living is so easy" which suggests a small echo of the Cure, while "Mongk II" is a massive gothic beast sung in tunnel like tones with echoes of Manchester's finest Joy Division.
All these show the band in fine form and prove that on there day they have few peers in the wonderful isles of Britain. Where however things go slightly awry is on the never ending "One more now" whose dreary 11 minutes doesn't fit the albums sequence or mood. Similarly "Stunde Null" could soundtrack one of those awful vampire movies that are so popular at the moment and sounds like My Chemical Romance with a banging hangover. Much much better is "Cleaning out the rooms" a gorgeous synth heavy ballad that reeks atmosphere and has an eerie doomed romanticism about it and this is reinforced by "Baby" which floats beautifully across its near six minute duration, weaving warm lines and a Pink Floyd "Wish you were here" ambiance.
Overall this is a very accessible and well constructed rock album from a band who deserve greater recognition and a wider audience. True there are some missteps located on "Valhalla Dancehall" but this can be put down to the bands desire to experiment and cross genres rather than poor songwriting or padding with filler. British Sea Power are an impressive crew and if this is your first purchase of the year you will not regret it.
Certainly "Valhalla Dancehall" is a nice blend of anthems which deserve a rather large stadium to be fully appreciated combined with pop songs like "Georgie Ray" which owe some debt to David Bowie and actually nod a wink to Coldplay. It all starts splendidly with the huge rocker "Whose in control" which deserves a massive sprawling crowd in a gigantic summer festival to chant along to its infectious chorus, huge riffs and overpowering guitar work. It will literally knock the plastic pineapple off the top of the television and bring crashing down the ducks off the wall; it deserves to be a huge hit and will grow to be loved by discerning rock fans. Another song falling into this category is the brilliant pop orientated "Observe the skies" which will click the "repeat" button in your brain and have you singing it on loop within your head. Other fine moments include the gentle bubbling single "Living is so easy" which suggests a small echo of the Cure, while "Mongk II" is a massive gothic beast sung in tunnel like tones with echoes of Manchester's finest Joy Division.
All these show the band in fine form and prove that on there day they have few peers in the wonderful isles of Britain. Where however things go slightly awry is on the never ending "One more now" whose dreary 11 minutes doesn't fit the albums sequence or mood. Similarly "Stunde Null" could soundtrack one of those awful vampire movies that are so popular at the moment and sounds like My Chemical Romance with a banging hangover. Much much better is "Cleaning out the rooms" a gorgeous synth heavy ballad that reeks atmosphere and has an eerie doomed romanticism about it and this is reinforced by "Baby" which floats beautifully across its near six minute duration, weaving warm lines and a Pink Floyd "Wish you were here" ambiance.
Overall this is a very accessible and well constructed rock album from a band who deserve greater recognition and a wider audience. True there are some missteps located on "Valhalla Dancehall" but this can be put down to the bands desire to experiment and cross genres rather than poor songwriting or padding with filler. British Sea Power are an impressive crew and if this is your first purchase of the year you will not regret it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
British Sea Power truly came of age with their 2008 release
'Do You Like Rock Music?' (We did and we still do!); 2009
delivered an interesting reflective diversion in the form
of the CD/DVD project 'Man Of Arran'. So very early into the
New Year and they return with a stunning new album which
bursts out of the speakers with the kind of joyous confidence
which deserves to steer them well into the mainstream of the
listening world. 'Valhalla Dancehall' really is made of terrific
stuff! Big emotional music which cannily avoids ever being brash
or pompous despite the often epic proportions of its sonic visions.
There are thirteen tracks in the collection; dense, highly-structured
arrangements which manage to feel fresh and spontaneous without
ever sounding over-worked. On the contrary there is a raw edge just
below the surface of a good number of these compositions which
really does make the hair stand up on the back of our necks!
Just listen to the ravishing guitar interventions at the heart of
the wonderful number 'Georgie Ray' for evidence of how far this
cracking band have come. Stuff to truly stir the mind and spirit!
The quality of musical invention and imagination barely lapses
for a moment. With songs of the calibre of 'Luna', a droll
mid-paced little wonder which brims over with moonlight and
palpable emotion; 'Observe The Skies', a raucous, hard-riding,
fast-driving piece of perfectly conceived uplifting rock; the
spectacularly wide inner-horizons of 'Cleaning Out Rooms' (a
daringly sustained long breath of a song which is so good it
almost hurts!); the condensed mayhem of quirky miniature 'Thin
Black Sail' and the deeply affecting ebb and flow of the magical
'Once More Now' (Surely their finest work?!) all add up to one of
the strongest albums produced by a British band in the past decade.
I doubt that many finer recordings will surface in the year ahead.
Essential.
'Do You Like Rock Music?' (We did and we still do!); 2009
delivered an interesting reflective diversion in the form
of the CD/DVD project 'Man Of Arran'. So very early into the
New Year and they return with a stunning new album which
bursts out of the speakers with the kind of joyous confidence
which deserves to steer them well into the mainstream of the
listening world. 'Valhalla Dancehall' really is made of terrific
stuff! Big emotional music which cannily avoids ever being brash
or pompous despite the often epic proportions of its sonic visions.
There are thirteen tracks in the collection; dense, highly-structured
arrangements which manage to feel fresh and spontaneous without
ever sounding over-worked. On the contrary there is a raw edge just
below the surface of a good number of these compositions which
really does make the hair stand up on the back of our necks!
Just listen to the ravishing guitar interventions at the heart of
the wonderful number 'Georgie Ray' for evidence of how far this
cracking band have come. Stuff to truly stir the mind and spirit!
The quality of musical invention and imagination barely lapses
for a moment. With songs of the calibre of 'Luna', a droll
mid-paced little wonder which brims over with moonlight and
palpable emotion; 'Observe The Skies', a raucous, hard-riding,
fast-driving piece of perfectly conceived uplifting rock; the
spectacularly wide inner-horizons of 'Cleaning Out Rooms' (a
daringly sustained long breath of a song which is so good it
almost hurts!); the condensed mayhem of quirky miniature 'Thin
Black Sail' and the deeply affecting ebb and flow of the magical
'Once More Now' (Surely their finest work?!) all add up to one of
the strongest albums produced by a British band in the past decade.
I doubt that many finer recordings will surface in the year ahead.
Essential.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
..As Yan says in the distinctly "normal" album closer "Heavy Waters". However, there is little "obvious" about BSP or this album... This album is arguably there most disconcertingly accessible with moments (as Carlo Ancelotti may say) of lyrical brilliance matching musical majesty on a more consistent basis than ever before. If it is their shot at the commercial big time then great, they deserve wide scale success (with gritted teeth from one of the few that seem to "get it")- but thankfully they haven't lost any eccentricity or charm. The fact they can toss tracks like "Bear" "Zeus" "Lucky Bicycle" etc on to a pre-album EP suggests that BSP are not fussed about the wider audience. As Yan says on "Bear"- "I saw reading the Daily Star, saw you watching the X-Factor and I was wondering how could you fall so far?"- Pop Culture, referenced but not integrated...
Best moments on the album for me are live favourite "Who's in Control?" , "Mongk II" (Although arguably Mongk on Zeus EP is a better mix), "Georgie Ray" and "Thin Black Sail" (palette cleanser that it is!)The variety in those four tracks alone would be enough to sustain many bands for many moons, quite frankly!
Looking forward to the Thekla and my sixth trip to see the best live band in the UK.
"If you want it, you can have it...it's not really complicated"
Best moments on the album for me are live favourite "Who's in Control?" , "Mongk II" (Although arguably Mongk on Zeus EP is a better mix), "Georgie Ray" and "Thin Black Sail" (palette cleanser that it is!)The variety in those four tracks alone would be enough to sustain many bands for many moons, quite frankly!
Looking forward to the Thekla and my sixth trip to see the best live band in the UK.
"If you want it, you can have it...it's not really complicated"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
More of the same with a few tweaks here and there. High praise indeed...
One of the most interesting alternative bands around. I say alternative because they are still something of a cult here rather than a household name but even though that following... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sammac
Doesn't hit the heights of DYLRM
Do You Like Rock Music is probably my favourite album of the last few years, so this one was going to have to be something special to get anywhere near that standard. It doesn't. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Duncan
Nothing new but why change a good thing?
I first heard of BSP in 2003 whilst on the trail of Bowie's European tour in France. I heard some odds and ends travelling in a car from Marseille to Lyon for the next Bowie show... Read more
Published 9 months ago by David Bentley Newman
Lights Out !!!
I am a massive BSP fan and always have one of their 1st three albums in the car or on the mp3. I could hardly wait to listen to Valhalla Dancehall, but must say I am as... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Jim
Yawn!
I bought the first album, saw them live and thought they were ok. Sadly, i sense no progress, often thinking that songs have just been re-hashed from earlier efforts. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. Nhj Barnes
Great album
Another great album from British Sea Power. Slightly different from previous but not straying too far to alienate long term fans. Read more
Published 15 months ago by by_tor
Husbands music
I bought this for my husband who likes this music. He prefers heavy base music. Although the cd was okay he would prefer less singing on his CDs.
Published 15 months ago by Brendap
OK
I'm not a sturgent fan of BSP but i've bought a few songs and followed them over the past few years. Got this mainly for the songs 'Luna' and 'Who's in Control? Read more
Published 15 months ago by H. Beevers
Bombastic Immaturity
I listened to this on the wave of favourable reviews I kept reading about it. It was certainly loud, over produced, bland and sweary.Very sweary. Read more
Published 15 months ago by S. Porter
A disappointment.
I count myself as a "fan" of the group. I loved "Open Season" and I rated "Do You Like Rock Music" as one of the best albums of the last 10 years. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Scott
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