Solarflares - That Was Then And So Was This

  by Denzil Watson

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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For a while now the signs have been that the SolarFlares would deliver a second long player to surpass their first salvo of garage-pop on 'Psychedelic Tantrum' in October 1999 - a fact born out by the three track single the band released earlier this year. It perhaps should come as no surprise then that 'That was then....and so is this' with its tongue-in-cheek title certainly lives up to expectations. While 'Psychedelic Tantrum' was firmly in the garage with its claustrophobic scuzzy guitar riffs and angst ridden lyrical twists 'TWT..ASIT' draws more heavily from the melodic side of the band and on the reflective and philosophical side of vocalist and guitarist Graham Day's psyche. With recording split between London's 'ode to the valve' that is Toe Rag studios and an old printing works and Rochester's own Red Studios, the album has a more accessible feel to it than their earlier offering. It kick starts with a slice of classic psychedelic-pop in the shape of the single 'Can't get you out of my mind' with its sizzling guitar licks and soaring tuneful lyric. The narrative 'It's alright' tells of the time when Day found himself left high and dry after a Prisoners gig in Amsterdam. Arguably the song contains the LP's most catchy melody and with its Hammond accompaniment takes up from where the excellent 'Hold your head up high' left off on 'Psychedelic Tantrum'. 'A right and a wrong way' further perfects the use of bassist Allan Crockford's excellent backing vocals to add another dimension to Day's lead vocal. The punchy, acoustic backing of 'Miles away' is reminiscent of the Monkees at their best and, with its lilting organ hew in its chorus, is perhaps the album's most light hearted moment. 'Get it together', the least memorable of the twelve tracks on offer here, is swiftly followed to maximum effect by its most caustic. The manic buzz'n'scuzz of 'Sucking out my insides' pushes harder and faster than anything else, Day's strangulated guitar licks lashing round Crockford and drummer Wolf Howard's bass and drumbeating. 'Picture of you' is a throw-back to Primemovers days and is yet another trademark example of the band's ability to combine the beauty of melody with the beast of fuzzed-up 60's guitar. 'The mountain' tells of Day's revulsion at the sale of a whole mountain in Scotland (perhaps the strangest victims of a capitalist economy gone mad) and ends with Day posing the question "where do we go from here?" Completing the trilogy started with 'Apollo go-go' and continued with 'Lunar girl', 'Angel Interceptor' is the ultimate in cool and downright grooviness. Day's love of Barry Gray's instrumental theme tunes is well documented while the Spock sample at the beginning of the track is pure genius. A big dirty Doorsy organ motif oozes all over the track with Day's chiming guitar intertwining to maximum effect. It, quite simply, doesn't get much better than this. The driving beat of 'Separate ways' sees Day pondering how, with the passage of time, he grew apart from the best friend of his teenage years, taking different paths that left them virtual strangers ("it seems a long time ago, we can't even say hello"). The penultimate cut 'Inside unseen' theorises that everyone has the potential, if triggered, to become a psychotic murderer. Closing track 'Souvenir' (nothing to do with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) features Fay Hallam on backing vocals and proves the album's most moving moment - it's mood of sentimentality perfectly encapsulated in the lyric "there can't be a freedom from memory, cause everything around you is part of me". Propelled along by its resonating, circular guitar pattern and haunting lyric "I'll be with you all the time" it makes a perfect ending to the album. For anyone wanting more information about any of the bands mentioned in this review, Denzil runs a Prisoners website which can be found at http://www.geocities.com/revengeofthecybermen

Track Listing:-

1 Can't Get You Out Of My Mind
2 It's Alright
3 A Right And A Wrong Way
4 Miles Away
5 Get It Together
6 Sucking Out My Insides
7 Picture Of You
8 The Mountain
9 Angel Interceptor
10 Separate Ways
11 Inside Unseen
12 Souvenir

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