Established fans of this scrappy Irish quartet may be startled by the band's slight turn toward electronica on its fourth studio album, but there's no need to fear: the focus is still on bittersweet melody and whimsical lyrics. Lines like "Bring your canary, bring your flame" and "I'd say life's a different story when you're facing certain death" and entire songs like the snotty, raunchy "One Stringed Harp" offer an interesting counterbalance to what are often delicately beautiful arrangements and tunes; on "The Great Defector" a slightly off-kilter verse slides into a startlingly simple and lovely hook in the chorus, all the while flirting with a ska beat. (It also features the couplet "You're the chocolate at the end of my cornetto/I love the way your underwire bra sets off that X-ray machine.") "Blow Ins" is subtly lounge-flavored until the gentle vocals come in and change the whole mood; "Breastfed," oddly enough, is written in 7/4. If you're looking for more cowbell, then try the relatively rockish "A Better Band," and if you're looking for less melody, try the weirdly tuneless "How Your Heart Is Wired." Blue Lights on the Runway is one of those rare albums that you can pretend to like for its alt-credibility while secretly just enjoying it for the hooks.
Bell X1 just recently released their new album, Blue Lights on the Runway, on March 3rd. The record is only the second to see a U.S. release but is actually the 4th effort for the Irish quartet. The band originally included folk superstar Damien Rice, who left the band to pursue a solo career (and we all know how that turned out), leaving drummer Paul Noonan to step into the singer/songwriter...
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Bell X1 just recently released their new album, Blue Lights on the Runway, on March 3rd. The record is only the second to see a U.S. release but is actually the 4th effort for the Irish quartet. The band originally included folk superstar Damien Rice, who left the band to pursue a solo career (and we all know how that turned out), leaving drummer Paul Noonan to step into the singer/songwriter...
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Bell X1's third album and US debut, Flock , was released early last year and garnered the band some well-deserved praise. The Irish group have a new record, Blue Lights On The Runway, in the works to be released on March 3rd, which the trio have described as a "little bit electronic, a little bit Bacharach and a little bit New Orleans Funeral March." I'm not sure exactly what that would sou...
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\Some of you knew ths band when Damien Rice was part of the band. I discovered them afterwards and from what I know the band took on a new personality aftern Damien left. I love their songs but it was high time we got a new album and here it comes. The song here is on their MS player This video is long but it previews some of the new material, if you can wade through their antics, interesting ...
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We here around THE CULTURE OF ME were once obsessed with all things relating to Sassy and Dirt magazines. And while those titles are long gone, the sentiment of how they covered the culture industries has indeed left its mark...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 The Ribs of a Broken Umbrella |
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| 2 How Your Heart Is Wired |
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| 3 The Great Defector |
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| 4 Blow Ins |
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| 5 Amelia |
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| 6 A Better Band |
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| 7 Breastfed |
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| 8 Light Catches Your Face |
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| 9 One Stringed Harp |
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| 10 The Curtains Are Twitchin' |
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 "Blue Lights on the Runway")
