Theatre Royal - ...And Then It Fell Out of My Head

by Malcolm Carter

published: 8 / 5 / 2017

Theatre Royal - ...And Then It Fell Out of My Head

Label: Vacilando '68
Format: CD

intro

Fourth album from Medway-based four-piece Theatre Royal which offers much more than the indie guitar pop that they’ve so far been recognised for

There’s one misstep on Rochester band Theatre Royal’s fourth album, ‘…And Then It Fell Out of My Head’, and that’s opening the album with ‘Port Bou’. It’s a spiky dark-hued slab of Echo & The Bunnymen indie-pop but it’s hardly representative of the rest of the album and, as catchy as it is, it leans too heavily on the aforementioned Bunnymen and their ilk for inspiration; it’s a matter of having heard it all before. It’s a decent enough song but nothing that captures the imagination or gives notice that Theatre Royal are anything other than another competent indie-guitar band with an early 1980's fixation. Admittedly given the choice of listening to ‘Port Bou’ or the dross which the radio spits out 24 hours a day most music lovers would opt for the former and on many other albums the song would be something of a highlight, but there’s so much more to this album than the band showing what must be a minor influence so openly. The other eleven songs on ‘…And Then It Fell Out of My Head’ offer so much more than that opening shot and show the band at the top of their game. For the most part the songs could be placed somewhere between the Undertones and the Ramones; raucous, hook-filled pop songs of the type that will fill your day with sunshine, songs that make you come alive. As soon as the second track, ‘What Has Become of Me?’, it’s obvious that Theatre Royal are onto something special; the spiky guitars suddenly jangle, a harmonica weaves in and out of one of those once heard never forgotten melodies and the harmonies are simply sublime. There are no direct reference points like the band displayed so blatantly on the opening song on this track; they’ve taken elements from every era of guitar pop and fused them to make an exciting sound that’s exclusively Theatre Royal. It’s quite simply a hook-filled brilliant pop song that’s impossible not to fall for on the very first listen. Then the band takes a subject that recounts the tale a band member’s grandmother walking past two dead lovers on Chatham Lines on ‘Locked Together on the Lines’, and somehow marries the tragic story to a life-affirming tune which although entirely at odds with the subject matter works perfectly. It’s a brilliant performance which once again proves that the band have a sound all of their own and don’t need to reference those they might have once admired or been influenced by so clearly. Absolute killer backing vocals grace this song too. They add so much to the track and have, even as early as the third song on the album, become something of a trademark for the Theatre Royal sound. By the fourth song, ‘Is That for You?’ it’s clear that Theatre Royal have assembled a set of hook-laden, immaculately performed up-tempo songs that are simply irresistible. There are a couple of diversions. ‘Standing in the Land’ slows the pace down with thoughtful lyrics like “ it seems clear to me, how can we be free?/When there’s dying in the sea because of you and me”. The lyrics are set to yet another addictive melody this time displaying a more mellow Theatre Royal and confirming that the band can play the sensitive card and win too. ‘Teardrop’ is, unsurprisingly, a weepie that has a slight country influence; once more those background vocals are perfect matching the emotion in lead singer Oliver Burgess’ heartfelt performance brilliantly. ‘Will Somebody Please Write Me a Song?’ requests Burgess near the end of the album but it’s clear that this band need no help in writing and playing little guitar pop gems, although the brass on this song does add another unexpected dimension to the track. ‘When The Land Meets the Sky’, a track where the band use their 80's influences in a more productive and satisfying way than on the opening song even features a few “ba ba bas” which sound like they are lifted direct from Cliff and The Shadows' ‘Out in the Country’ from a couple of decades prior to the 1980's just to prove that you’re never sure where this band are going to go next. ‘’…And Then It Fell Out of My Head’ is forty minutes of well-crafted, intelligent pop music which you just know is going to stand the test of time. If Echo & The Bunnymen aren’t your thing then skip that first song and listen to any other track to hear just what this band is capable of, you’ll eventually get to like that song as well but it’s not representative of just how original and special this album is.

Track Listing:-

1 Port Bou
2 What Has Become of Me?
3 Locked Together on the Lines
4 Is That for You?
5 Standing in the Land
6 Borrowed Pen
7 Teardrop
8 Tune Out
9 Where the Land Meets the Sky
10 Will Somebody Please Write Me a Song?
11 And Then It Fell out of My Head...
12 Staring into the Void