Arrest! Charlie Tipper - Adventures in Wonderland

by Dixie Ernill

published: 5 / 10 / 2022

Arrest! Charlie Tipper - Adventures in Wonderland

Label: Shifting Sands
Format: CD

intro

Intelligent guitar pop from veteran Bristol popsters Arrest! Charlie Tipper

I suspect the album title is tongue in cheek as this is quite a dark album with a strong social and political current running through it. That’s not to say there isn’t some fine song craft at work. It just isn’t a summer album and the fact that I listened to it again on a midday car journey on one of the hottest days of the year probably wasn’t the best way to enjoy it! It feels much more of a mid autumn album with reference points in places being Joy Division, The Fall and The Beatnik Filmstars (unsurprising really as half the band have previously been members). Aside from the often weighty subject matters ('Refugees', 'F is For Fascist' and 'Best Laid Plans'), there are also some sparkling pop nuggets that shine through - single 'Five Aces' and 'Let’s Be Honest' being the perfect examples of when everything clicks into place. Elsewhere, there is a nod to the recent times we’ve (hopefully) lived through in 'Lockdown' and a brilliantly observed and stark 'Trust Me'. Intelligent guitar pop at its best. At nineteen tracks long it represents great value for money, but some careful pruning could turn a steady 3 out of 5 record into a strong 4.

Track Listing:-

1 Best Laid Plans
2 Youth
3 Adventures In Wonderland
4 Crash The Plane
5 Five Aces
6 Trust Me
7 Refugees
8 Good men
9 F is for Fascist
10 . Hey! Bolsonaro
11 Lockdown
12 Let's be Honest
13 Lightening Strikes
14 Spaceman
15 . Unreliable Witness
16 Black Box
17 Falling Down
18 Stay Safe
19 The Circle