Valentina - The Wedding Present Album Review

The Wedding Present

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Album Review

Eight albums in, The Wedding Present are showing little signs of flagging. The Leeds legends also display very little in the way of change compared to what they've been releasing for the last 15 years or so - "Valentina" is effectively, business as usual.

It's been nearly four years since their previous full-length studio set, "El Rey", during which time, Gedge and his charges have been touring, touring and touring again. And guess what? They'll probably be doing the same at some point, much to the delight of their loyal and partisan following, many of which have been ever-present since those heady days of C-86, footballer-adorned album-sleeves and furious guitar-shredding, the like of which no-one has seen too often on TV. I seem to remember their "Brassneck" hit being all over Top of the Pops like a rash - if the same programme was running today, I don't think the announcers would be troubled by The Wedding Present circa-2012.

The whole thing starts promisingly enough with the tribal-drums of "You're Dead", sounding not unlike an Albini-produced contribution from their 1991 triumph, "Seamonsters", with lashings of fuzzy guitar and stop-start rhythms throughout. The song reveals both sides to the Weddoes canon - loud and brash, melodic and plaintive - a good start. Also excellent are the rather more straight-forward "You Jane" and the 200 kph blast of "Back a Bit....Stop", which ends with a squall of feedback that might just test a few eardrums when relayed live.

What may also test the patience are some of the songs on "Valentina", with the likes of "Meet Cute" and "Deer Caught in the Headlights" being mere shadows of their creator's former brilliant selves. "End Credits" is possibly the standout in a rather haphazard finishing-strait - with the sort of bassline that could strip paint and the nearest thing to a hit-single on here. But who really cares about hits anymore - it's all about the albums and all about the finished result. "Valentina" is a composite Wedding Present that does its job. That is all.

Paul Pledger