Review – Little Murders “We Should Be There By Now”
album on Swerve Records
Learning of a new release
from Rob Griffiths’ The
Little Murders was reason enough
to rekindle the interest I acquired back in May 2000 when I was sent copies of The
Little Murders
latest record “First
Light” and, by way of an aural
introduction to his label, the a Swerve
compilation containing a couple of their songs. And back they all came –
those infectious hooks and recognisable sounds in 10,000 Guitars, Andy Warhol, That’s The Way… and No
Girlfriend... that reminded me of
where Rob’s head was at that time in
his life and, more than probably, what to expect from the new line-up on “We Should Be Home By Now” on Swerve
Records.
The accompanying press is an article by a
like-minded writer in San Francisco that sets the tone by providing an
anecdote on how he first learned of the band, what they listened to during that
first encounter and the comparison between “First
Light” and “We Should Be Home By Now.” Whilst he suggests that Rob was coming off the break-up of a long relationship
when writing “First
Light,” he likens it to The Kinks,
The Chills, The
Go-Betweens, Paul Weller,
The Hummingbirds and early Woodentops albums whilst he has Rob admitting to influences by Beatles
solo albums, Neil Young,
Syd Barrett’s
Pink Floyd,
Gram Parsons and Love.
Personally, trying to
interpret what a person is going through when they’re putting a record together
is not what I’m about… I’m more how it sounds and where you’re most likely to
hear it. What you can expect on this mid-level community / college radio
rotation album is a little more of what we got on “First
Light” i.e. Melburnian folk / pop like Paul Kelly and Weddings
Parties combined with Brit folk and / or pop like Paul Weller and Billy Bragg. An underlying country feel, helped along by a
slide-guitar here and there peaked with Chris Bailey’s Saints (circa Prodigal
Son) go to Tamworth on The Keys To My Heart whilst they returned
to Holland on The Way Of The World.
The low points include the annoyingly familiar hook
in the title track, Almost Over and Mind Wide Open and the
overused, often-clichéd forced-rhyme lyrics in the title track, Way of the
World and Almost Over. But the interesting Burt Bacharachesque solo-trumpet on Paint
The Sky saves the day along with Its Your Life featuring Mick
Weddings
Parties Anything Thomas on vocals, Is It Over With
Us, And Then She Falls, Holiday (which revisit “First
Light” quite eerily) and the opener All That She Said To Me.
The Little Murders’ “We Should Be
Home By Now” album on Swerve Records
is where twenty years on the underground circuit can take an artist who is not
afraid to more-than-express what he has been listening to all his life. If
you’re into The Little Murders
you’ll enjoy “We Should Be Home By
Now”