Captain Wilberforce
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Everyone Loves a Villain - Captain Wilberforce Album Review
Album Review
Weighing it at just over 38 minutes for 11 tracks, 'Everyone Loves a Villain' was first released in the US in June 2008, the second album by Leeds-based songwriter Simon Bristoll. Obviously a very talented guy, Bristoll not only wrote all the music and lyrics, recorded and co-produced the album, but also took control of virtually all the instrumentation and vocal duties.
Right from the beginning, this album is a little gem, recalling quite vividly the harmonies and slightly preppy vocals of those myriad Britpop bands from the summer of 1995. Title track is quite Beatle-y in its sound and lyrical quality. Think Sgt Pepper's and you'll have it. The refrain of "his mum still loves him/even though he's bad" illustrate this particularly well. The stomping piano and strings in the background serve to emphasise this particular influence on Bristoll, and is reflected in his richly lyrical storytelling. 'Confetti, Champagne and Roses' is the tale of a girl who has been planning her wedding since the age of 5 or so and has an idealistic view of what it means. She is just waiting for "the guy that she's destined to meet" but "all the good ones are taken, or gay, or over the hill". It would initially appear to be the swan song to singleton life of drinking in bars and sweaty fumblings in the back seats of cars of a woman perhaps in her mid-thirties, but the girl is apparently only 16 which is a bit worrying... Perhaps Mr Bristoll had a bad experience when he was much younger with a girl like this. And let's face it, we all know at least one... It is a tuneful ode, and has a wistful hook which leaves you hanging at the end of the track.
Lightning Seeds type vocals start off the next track, 'The Longest Night', which is about a couple in the midst of an argument: the message on the answer phone that says "how long, how long do I have to hold my breath for you". Some ballsy guitar chords come in for the first chorus, with the pace dropping down at intervals; this gives the sense of the ups and downs this couple appear to be going through, and the ultimate fear that the olive branch of first contact will not be taken up by the other party. Dreamy backing vocals lull the listener. 'The Girl Who Broke Her Own Heart' is about a girl who has cheated on her boyfriend and has been dumped as a result of having been, to use the parlance of our times, busted. The song is like a very good friend who gently rebukes you, telling you you only have yourself to blame while at the same time enveloping you in a gig to make it hurt a little less. Simon B's vocals show their pretty impressive range on this track, sounding a bit like Pink Floyd's David Gilmour when in the lower registers, and soaring way above the Chris Martin end of the scale in the higher ones. The cello in the backing of this track adds depth and poignancy to it, especially the plucking towards the end which are gentle raps on the knuckles.
My personal favourite track, 'Get a Grip, My Dear', is about unanswered love letters. An unusual mode of communication in this day and age, I am all for a revival of it as it would encourage a bit of patience in this world of the instant answer. A pretty tune like a honeysuckle climbing up and down a trellis, the guitar sound and vocals are reminiscent of electricity, humming along a wire. With lyrics written almost in the style of a formal business letter, this song features some pretty unusual words and will be added to the Impressive Lexicon playlist I am building up on my laptop: it's not often you hear the word perfidious in a pop song. The next track is in the style of a good Squeeze track, starts off with some simple guitar and deals with failed relationships, playing on the old 'plenty more fish in the sea' analogy. This person should be fishing in 'A Different Sea'. Badly Drawn Boy is heard in the next track, it starting almost exactly like 'Different Pearl' from 'The Hour of Bewilderbeast' album.
'Born Again Brand New Man' is a melodic and quirky song about a bloke trying to smooth off his blokey edges to get his girl back - hoovering, joining a gym, cutting down on the amount of football he's watching. A very pleasingly catchy hook. 'You Must Remember This' is not a cover of the song from 'Casablanca' but a sweet indie song with some beautiful and almost choral backing vocals, and a bit of an interesting drum beat, out of the ordinary. 'The Twilight Kids' has an apocalyptic subject matter and is a serious note to end the album on but is a very beautiful and simply-produced song, thus effective in its message.
I hope this album does well upon its release in the UK. The melodies are striking and memorable, although the album takes a couple of listens to get into. To publicise the album, Captain Wilberforce will be playing UK dates-I'd definitely recommend them if you can get some tickets.
