Spearmint - Different Lifetime

by Chris Jones

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

Label: Hitback Records
Format: CD

I don't know what it is about Spearmint that makes me like them as much as I do. I'm also not sure why I consider them a "guilty pleasure" of sorts. Fortunately knowing the "why" of those questions

Review

I don't know what it is about Spearmint that makes me like them as much as I do. I'm also not sure why I consider them a "guilty pleasure" of sorts. Fortunately knowing the "why" of those questions isn't necessary. I hear the music, my toe starts tapping, and I find myself singing along. This is the third album by Spearmint and possibly their most consistent release. Their first full length, 'A Week Away', has two of my favourite Spearmint songs, but it also has a few songs that I always skip. The 'Oklahoma!' EP that came out last year seemed somewhat lacking and didn't suceed in knocking 'A Week Away' out of the CD changer. but 'A Different Lifetime' manages to combine the upbeat, soulful feel of 'A Week Away' and the mellower, almost sombre sound of 'Oklahoma!' very nicely. The songs on this album are connected to one another. From the opening track 'It Will End' to the epic lengthed title track to the last track '…You are Forgiven', this album goes through all the phases of a relationship. And based on the album info on the Spearmint web site ( www.spearmint.net ), it looks like this is due to personal relationship woes that frontman Shirley Lee was going through when he wrote these songs. To steal from the liner notes and the song 'Solace', the songs on the album are "about falling in love...about being in love...about saying goodbye." Along the way Shirley Lee does something that he has done on the previous Spearmint releases - he mentions other bands that he likes. Once again for reasons unknown I like this. On the song 'Scottish Pop', Shirley sings about how much he likes the music of Scots like Stephen Pastel, Adventures in Stereo, Stuart Murdoch, and a number of others. And of course the song "The Flaming Lips' has a line referring to that band. Maybe I like the band references because I also like the bands he mentions. It adds to the connection I can make with the songs. This album may not be quite as soulful as 'A Week Away', but it still gets my toes tapping. And the mellower sound that 'Oklahoma!' delved into is pulled off better this time around too. I think that's why I find this album to be their most solid from beginning to end. The songs have a "bounce" to them that isn't really there in most of the other music I listen to and that sets them apart for me. Now maybe I just listen to too much mopey music. And maybe that's why I feel guilty when I listen to Spearmint. They almost seem happy !?!?!

Track Listing:-

1 It Will End
2 Distant Star
3 Stealing Beauty
4 Julie Christie!
5 Suddenly
6 Scottish Pop
7 Wrapped Up Together
8 The Moment In My Mind
9 Go
10 The Flaming Lips
11 Solace
12 A Different Lifetime
13 Single Again
14 I'm So Sorry
15 You Are Forgiven