Practical Lovers - Agony

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 11 / 1 / 2016

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And so another year comes to a close. I had already sorted out my Top Ten Albums of the Year list ready for when our editor asked for it, and then this happens! Practical Lovers release their debut LP ‘Agony’, which has a melancholy vintage 80's pop sound, fuzzy bass guitar and retro analogue synths. As if it was not good enough that it has all these wonderful ingredients, they have released it through my home city Nottingham's own I'm Not From London record label. Well, when the promo dropped on the doormat, I was jumping for joy and reaching for a pen to change that list. Practical Lovers are a joint venture containing singer songwriter Jack Wiles and his long-term musical partner Mark Connell. This album was originally conceived as a solo project for Wiles in 2010, but, after he shared the songs with Connell, they released a couple of singles when they began touring together, earning themselves in the process a healthy reputation for their live sets. Now they unveil their eagerly-awaited debut album, a stirring incitement of vintage synths and analogue drum machines bound in nostalgic radiance and heavy and seductive emotions. All the tracks on this belter of a debut are love songs in some shape or form. While some are dark and are about heartache, all are furiously addictive. If you were brought up in the 1980s or just a fan of your parents' record boxes, then this is a must. ‘Put It Bluntly’ sets the tone for the rest of the album. Early Depeche Mode-synth kicks it off as an up-tempo drum machine drifts in and Wiles' vocals, which recall Tom Smith from Editors, infect the eardrums. ‘Never Again’ has thicker synths this time and a New Order style guitar working its magic in the break along with that haunting vocal. ‘Inside Job’ sees early OMD-style ‘Messages’ keyboards, while Wiles stretches his vocal chords a little more, getting ready for the highlight in the first part of this offering ‘Full of You’, upon which he shows off a lower register and Connell reveals a frighteningly catchy pop melody. This is just right where I came from back in my youth, yet strangely now sounds so Future Islands-ish. There is again a Depeche Mode influence to the next track, ‘Nobody There’ and here Wiles treats us to our first glimpse of a Curtis-like vocal that is quite haunting. ‘The Work Around’ is also reminiscent of Joy Division with its Peter Hook-type bass, and also has in its synths an element of Blancmange. Curtis’s influence continue with ‘No Reply’ which slows the pace down mid-album and treats us to an OMD B-side echo clap drum beat and wandering synths, both of which work like magic. Following the Fad Gadget-like ‘Restless’ the next strong track 'Textbook Romance' conjures up memories of Ultravox. This foot-tapping fest is brought to a close, with the upbeat ‘Falling Down’ and the melancholic lament of ‘Grave of Romance. It appears in a plain black sleeve with a white heart on it and tracklisting on the back. There is not much to speak of there, but it doesn't matter. It's not going to be in its sleeve much because I can’t stop playing it. Now I'll get my pen and change that list! Marvellous!

Track Listing:-

1 Put It Bluntly
2 Never Again
3 Inside Job
4 Full Of You
5 Nobody There
6 The Work Around
7 No Reply
8 Restless
9 Textbook Romance
10 Falling Down
11 Grave Of Romance

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/Practicallovers
https://twitter.com/practicallovers
https://thepracticallovers.bandcamp.com/

Label Links:-

http://www.imnotfromlondon.com/
https://twitter.com/Imnotfromlondon
https://www.facebook.com/ImNotFromLondonEvents

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