The Slow Readers Club - Out Of A Dream

When The Slow Readers Club debuted songs from their seventh long player at the tail end of last year, we were instantly excited for the release of Out Of A Dream. We noted that “the band are on fire and frontman Aaron Starkie has an energy, an enthusiasm, and a passion that suggests he’s on a mission.” That mission has been delivered. 

Opening with the towering Technofear, the album gets off to an impressive start and over the course of the next forty minutes we are treated to ten new classics. Technofear comes hurtling out the traps. It has everything we've come to love and expect from The Slow Readers Club – a pulsating rhythm section, a commanding vocal, powerful guitars, lots of sparkling synths and it perfectly showcases this fantastic new Readers album. It's a call to arms with Starkie waging war against the impact of modern technology on life and it is from Technofear that the album title is derived. “This war has just began, don't bow to anyone” he asserts in this power-pop opening.

The style and pace is maintained by the equally excellent Animals. With the very briefest of introductions, David Whitworth's powerful drums come crashing in with an immediacy to Kurtis Starkie's guitar meanwhile brother Aaron delivers a tender love song - “Just like an old time crooner, I've seen the song to win your heart and as the night draws in, I long to have you here by my side.” Whilst maintaining their high standards from previous Slow Readers Club albums, there's more depth, warmth and layers here. Producer Joe Cross must be applauded for adding extra dimensions to their sound. 

There's a mood shift next on the reflective and synth-led Little White Lies, whilst Starkie delivers more of a falsetto voice. There's melancholy yet an optimism as he sings “Our day is coming.. won't you stay right here with me.. I declare my devotion, well here I stand”. Little White Lies demonstrates what a fine lyricist Starkie is, meanwhile the band around him paint a subtle yet dynamic musical canvas. An injection of pace follows on 

Dear Silence which is driven along by Jim Ryan's trademark bass. It's a classic slice of Readers self-proclaimed “doom pop” - a hard and challenging lyric set against powerful and uplifting beats; “I stand alone, I don't belong” Starkie proclaims. There's a real urgency here. Again, we are straight in with little or no introduction. Benefiting from synths, there's a fullness and a richness to their sound like they've not had before.

 

Know This I Am opens with a jam from Kurtis sounding not too far removed from the legendary Larry Gott. There's a big, expansive, almost gothic (with a small g) sound to Know This I Am. 

If you are spinning the vinyl, then this is a mightily impressive A-side to rival anything the band have ever produced before. However, this is just for starters. The third single / lead track / focus track / or whatever-it-is-called-these-days Boy So Blue gets the second side of the album underway. For me it was the standout track from the winter tour. The song instantly connected with the audience - “Who tore your world apart? Boy so blue. No one can count the scars” howls Starkie before a swarm of synths and Kurtis' acoustic guitar come in. It's the band's first real foray into dance music. It is euphoric. And pulsating. And uplifting. It ranks as one of their finest moments. Aaron said of it recently that there’s a deliberate contrast between the elation of the music and the melancholy of the lyrics, capturing the subject's duality of light and darkness.

The dark and brooding Pirouette returns the band to more familiar territory before an equally captivating Puppets, in which Aaron reflects on the current global political climate we live in; “we could have been anything but the world revolves around greed again.. hate, it's the latest craze.” Whilst it is typical for the band to turn Aaron's angst into something hopeful, anthemic and uplifting, that's not possible here. 

The cathartic Loved You Then shifts the mood again and the tempo is turned up with the lyrical bleakness at odds with the driving bass and synths. 

Album closer Our Song Is Sung was described at the band's recent album launch shows as a divorce song and tells the tale of breakup. It follows in the same tradition taken by Readers on earlier LPs, and is a fitting finale to an album which touches on themes of relationships and the challenges of navigating life during turbulent times. There's a little bit of hope and optimism at the end; “another day will come along” are the final words sung. 

With Out Of A Dream, The Slow Readers Club have delivered a deep, rich, reflective, accomplished and exceptional album. It ranks amongst their finest work.

The Slow Readers Club's official website can be found here. They are also on Facebook and Twitter. 

Out Of A Dream is out on Friday.

The Slow Readers Club play Bury Met (April 14), Liverpool Jacaranda (15), Leeds Headrow House (16, two shows), London Rough Trade East (20), Kingston Pryzm (21), Nottingham Rough Trade (22, two shows) before heading out to Europe to play Amsterdam Paradiso (April 22), Nijmegen Doornroosje (23), Groningen Vera (24), Cologne Luxor (25) and Hamburg Kent Club (26).

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