Nightingales - Out Of True

  by Jon Rogers

published: 30 / 9 / 2006

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Review

To be a fan of Birmingham’s the Nightingales you have to have the patience of a saint. It was 20 years since the band last released an album. Twenty years! Christ, many a band has split up and reformed in that time. Even communism was just about alive and kicking then and New Labour hadn’t even been thought up. My Bloody Valentine was more productive than that. The big question though is was it worth the wait? The answer undoubtedly is no. 'Out of True' sounds little more than a collection of outtakes and B-sides that didn’t deserve to be taken out of the vaults. Back in their day, Robert Lloyd and company epitomised the state of independence that had arisen in the post-punk milieu.and took their cue from the likes of Pere Ubu and Magazine. Much of it was, effectively “antipop” and mined a similar area to the Fall. While Mark E Smith catalogued life in Manchester, the Nightingales did a similar thing with Birmingham. And they’re still doing it 20 years later. Now, though, all that post-punk angst just looks rather silly coming from balding, middle-aged men. They rail against the corporate ethos in 'Company Man' but they look they’ve spent the last 20 years studying spreadsheet and profit and loss accounts much more than chord sequences. The real problem is that this album not only could have been made 20 years ago but should have. The Nightingales haven’t moved on since 'Hysterics' was released in 1983. There is was glimmer of hope though. The Raincoats’ Gina Birch joins the band to duet on the wonderful 'Black Country' which is all laid-back and blissed-out as it meanders along. One out of fourteen though isn’t a good track record.

Track Listing:-

1 Born Again In Birmingham
2 The Chorus Is The Title
3 Carry On Up The Ante
4 Hard Up (Buffering 87% Completed)
5 Taking Away The Stigma Of Free School Dinners
6 Company Man
7 Uk Randy Mom Epidemic
8 Fifty Fifty
9 Lets Think About Living
10 Black Country
11 Good Boy
12 Workshy Wonderkind
13 Rocket Pool Via Rough Hills
14 There's A New World Just Opening For Me

Band Links:-

http://thenightingales.org.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/thenightingal
https://twitter.com/_nightingales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night

Have a Listen:-