Lymes - Goodbye Bangkok

by Andy Cassidy

published: 12 / 9 / 2011

Label: Mollusc Records
Format: CD

Harrowing and unsettling, yet compelling travelogue of founder member Richard Gilbert’s six years in Southeast Asia on debut album from Hull duo, Lymes

Review

'Goodbye Bangkok' is Lymes founder Richard Gilbert’s travelogue of six years spent in Southeast Asia. The stories collected here represent a tour through the darker areas of human nature, places normally inhabited by the likes of Tom Waits. And, despite Gilbert’s stating that he “loved it there,” the songs are bleak mementoes of a string of strange, tragic and shocking series of events. Opening track 'Welcome' is a sweeping orchestral overture, perfectly setting the scene with a poignant, almost classical tone piece. The songs proper kick off with the second track, debut single 'Train to Penang', a heart-wrenching piano ballad. It’s a beautiful song with lyrics to match, but it doesn’t strike me as single material no matter how much I liked it – it’s simply not commercial enough. 'Be My Dead Wife' is a bleak tale of spousicide, with some truly unnerving images ("I just don’t know what she’s doing down there/In that beautiful heap with blood in her hair") while 'Feed the Birds' seems to be an indictment of the Thai authorities’ treatment of drug dealers ("I’ll break your bones and take you to our seaside cells"). 'BADFADGE' is a curious instrumental, strangely discordant yet compelling, while 'Kenny' is the story of a friend who goes on holiday only to be murdered. This is a very personal album, perhaps a little too personal for some tastes. There is real tragedy in the songs, and it leads one to wonder as to Gilbert’s frame of mind if, indeed, he did love it there. Murders, suicides, lady-boys, HIV, brutal police officers and drugs fill the songs, but, to his credit, Gilbert never sensationalises – his role is merely as observer. With its themes of tragedy and loss of innocence, it is difficult to say whether I enjoyed this album. Perhaps “enjoyed” is the wrong word – I would probably say that I appreciated it rather than enjoyed it. As travelogues go, I have no doubt that this is an accurate portrayal of Gilbert’s time in Bangkok. Somehow, though, I don’t think the Thai tourist board will be adopting any tracks for use in their promotional material…

Track Listing:-

1 Welcome
2 Train to Penang
3 The Fool
4 Be My Dead Wife
5 Feed The Birds
6 American Spy
7 Goodbye Bangkok
8 B A D F A D G E
9 Weak Man Flying
10 Voodoo Doll
11 Kenny
12 Your Sweet Love