Departure - Be My Enemy

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 17 / 10 / 2004

Label: Parlophone
Format: CDS

intro

Enjoyable second single from the Departure, which shows themto be "without a doubt forerunners of the new 80’s revival"

The Departure are a five piece who hail from Northampton. I first saw them at the London Mean Fiddler back in June, supporting the Killers. When I first saw them, I thought ‘ Fuck, they look far too cool to be a support band.” They were dressed in smart suits and they reminded me with their elegance of an early 80’s band such as OMD on ‘Top of the Pops.’ When I heard their material I again thought ‘Fuck’, but this time ‘This band will be huge.’ What they did, they did very well and without making it look hard. Shortly afterwards they signed to Parlophone. They were E.M.I’s first signing to the Beatles’ old label in two years. Their debut single, ‘All Mapped Out/Dirty Words’ appeared in August, and remained in my CD player for nearly all of the rest of the summer. The Departure have many points of reference. Yes, they are part of the new 80’s influenced culture. They are, however, all only in their early 20’s. Singer David Jones is, like most of the rest of the band, good looking. He is also very focused. The lead guitarist plays remarkably well. He is as confident a player as Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding from the Chameleons, both of whom he reminds me of. Another reference point there is the Edge and early U2, but he is better, so much better. The rhythm section are meanwhile very tight. ‘Be My Enemy’, the first track of their new three song EP. starts off with ‘Paint It Black’ drums and some killer guitar work. David Jones’ vocals command your attention from the outset and the instrumentation folds out in front of your ears to amazing effect. The only down side to it is it’s short and sounds even better live. ‘She’s in Stereo’ has Gary Numan style vocals. The guitar and the bass which work away behind the vocals make this, for those old enought o remember, just as refreshing as your first memory of your first Smiths concert. ‘Crashing the Same Scene’ meanwhile is very Tubeway Army in its style and brings the EP to an affirmative conclusion. The Departure are without a doubt forerunners of the new 80’s revival. They are England’s answer to Interpol.

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