The Basics – Keep Your Friends Close
(3B Records)
Perhaps unsurprisingly given their Australasian roots, The Basics kick off their second album sounding not unlike Crowded House: by no means a bad start. Despite initial hopes, Keep Your Friends Close is missing many of the, as yet unrecorded, highlights of their live set. Which is a shame, because, some of the songs on offer here lack the strength required. At points there are a few too many simplistic lyrics on tracks like the self analytical ‘What Do You See In Me’ and ‘Home Again’ (“Quit my job on a Friday, told all my friends I was flying…. Everything felt like a failure, I’d had enough of Australia”), but aspects of Talking Heads on songs like ‘Home Again’ raise this above the average.
Certain tunes capture a great melee of sounds that work, with an assortment of percussion and saxophone, on ‘The Executioner’. Whilst the more driving rockier sound on ‘Keep The Door Open’, towards the end of the album, is a pleasant surprise it feels slightly out of place. The final singer songwriter tune ‘All Or Nothing’ is intelligent and humourous and makes it an exceptional end to a strong album. Overall not earth shattering but worth tracking down.
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