15 Earthquake Glue

  

Introduction

As I've mentioned several times previously, my listening habits re GBV have, over the last few months, involved listening to both individual albums and sequential 'chunks' of the back catalogue (as far as English Little League). Doing this, some albums (including, inevitably, Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes) immediately stood out as strong pieces of work. Others (Vampire On Titus springs to mind) took a little work to get into. 

Earthquake Glue was not one of those that immediately leapt out at me. However, although it isn't perhaps absolutely top drawer, it's been a very rewarding experience to have it on heavy rotation over the last couple of weeks.

The Album

You can ride on my shoulders

As has been the case with the last three albums (as well as several others), Earthquake Glue hits the ground running with a strong opener. 'My Kind of Soldier' has a driving yet calm intensity, the vocal floating languidly over a bed of urgent strumming. As usual, the lyric is full of thoughtfully crafted imagery that I struggle to interpret ('paralyse the chains / soft the shelled remains / stun the strike brigade'), but there is certainly something poignantly uplifting about 'you can ride on my shoulders when you've won.'

In general, I have seen the sequencing of GBV albums as a key strength. However, I can't help feeling that the rousing 'My Son, My Secretary, My Country' - which has that folk-protest song vibe akin to, for example, 'The Official Ironmen Rally Song', 'Trampoline' and 'Common Rebels' - would have been better placed at the beginning of the album. 

Unanswered questions

This opening pair is followed by a trio of solidly very good tracks - all 8/10s on my rating scale, but all for different reasons. There's an almost industrial grind to 'I'll Replace You With Machines', emphasised by a 'swooshing' note to the percussion that brings to mind an army of robots on the march. Whilst this seems to align with the song's title, the lyric isn't exactly the dystopian, Terminator-style hellscape you might expect; instead, it feels more like a reflection on difficulties with connection and communication, with the references to letters, messengers and the conclusion of the chorus - 'I can't face you.'

'She Goes Off At Night' has more of a spring to its step, alternating between swirling, choppy chords and dreamy, psychedelic passages. There's an engaging air of mystery an intrigue about the protagonist, who disappears 'to Jesus knows where' under cover of darkness: 'Where has she been? What has she heard?'

There are also unanswered questions to be found in 'Beat Your Wings' - 'never know why she sees anything'; Will the wind that scatters dust reveal its secrets?' 'Time to stop wasting time, what will you bring?' However, the main theme appears to be one of growth and new beginnings: 'a sweet seed growing'; 'she will rise again.' It has a beautifully melancholy melody, and there's a sweeping grandiosity to the song. The guitar work is also notable, both the meandering, two-guitar workout that emerges around halfway through and the urgent squall in the coda. 

The coldness in our lives

As solidly very good as those three are, the absolute highlights are to be found dotted around the middle section of the album. 'A Trophy Mule in Particular' (a particularly fabulous title) marries earnest introspection and soaring intensity with perfect balance. 'Useless Inventions' threads an effortlessly memorable melody through a barrage of lithe, catchy riffs. Its zesty exuberence contrasts elegantly with  world-weary observations on the ephemeral and superficial nature of 'progress': 'a world of quick-fix dreams' which only serves to distract us 'from noticing the coldness in our lives.'

Best of all, 'The Best Of Jill Hives' is simply magnificent. Understated but tensely powerful, it is - alongside 'Not Behind The Fighter Jet' - so far my favourite song post-Bee Thousand / Alien Lanes. 

Measured aggression

The second half of the album has a few more solid 8/10s. 'Dead Cloud' is full of twitchy post-punk energy. 'Apology in Advance' combines measured aggression with busily tuneful arpeggios to good effect. 'The Main Street Wizards' is another exemplary slice of swirlingly delightful pop-psychedelia.

In the 'decent, but not quite there' category, we have 'Dirty Water', where the swampish bluesy harmonica is a nice touch, but overall it's a little pedestrian. 'Mix Up The Satellite' is pleasant enough, but just a little too flimsy and cute for its own good.

A little flat

The album does peter out a little at the end. 'Secret Star' reaches for a winning groove that falls a little flat, before dipping into a somewhat uninspiring ambient interlude. To be fair, it does then morph into something a little more stridently inspiring; but overall, it just doesn't quite gel satisfactorily. 'Of Mites and Men' (in contrast to 'Trophy Mule', a terrible title) trundles along determinedly for the most part, but again deploys a downtempo interlude. There's nothing overtly wrong with the song, but the phrase 'falls a little flat' once again springs to mind.

In Conclusion...

After my lengthy run of listening to whole/sequences of GBV albums turned into the more detailed examinations that have been the source of these posts, I have discovered that some albums are boosted by the more forensic approach, whilst others fall back a little. Before I started writing, I would have been confident, for example, in saying that I preferred Mag Earwhig! to this album. However, as you can see below, Earthquake Glue has ended up sitting a comfortable 0.3 ahead. 

My only real issue with this album is the sequencing - a bit of a surprise, given that this is an aspect that has been a key supporting factor in the greatness of many of the preceding LPs. Swapping the first two tracks would have, to my my mind, created a much more satisfactory introduction; the final two songs might not have felt so mildly disappointing had they been more carefully deployed rather than having a 'tacked onto the end' vibe.

But this is a minor criticism really. What's more important is that - whilst it doesn't have the volume of nine or ten out of tens seen elsewhere - Earthquake Glue is generally consistent in quality whilst rarely lacking in variation...

Added to the 'GBV Favourites' playlist: 

...which means that a fairly impressive 11/15 make it onto the compilation:

• My Kind of Soldier
• My Son, My Secretary, My Country
• I'll Replace You With Machines
• She Goes Off At Night
• Beat Your Wings
• Useless Inventions
• The Best Of Jill Hives
• Dead Cloud
• Main Street Wizards
• A Trophy Mule in Particular
• Apology in Advance

Album rank:

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