Artist: Desperate Journalist
Title: In Search Of The Miraculous
Genre: Post Punk / Guitar Pop
Release Date: 22nd February 2019
Label: Fierce Panda Records
Album Review
Sometimes bands get so over-hyped it’s hard to tell in the end if they were ever any good, or just fluked by on some wave of media ass-kissing. In an age of Influencers, Fake News and YouTube “stars”, it’s a minefield out there - but then, it’s always been that way. Manufactured bands and audiences are hardly a new thing, and hard work, or even talent, has never ever been a guarantee of success in this strange old business. DESPERATE JOURNALIST seem to be everywhere right now. They can do no wrong. Reviews are glowing, bigger and bigger venues are being filled, and the UK at least seems to be caught up in a massive love-in that shows no sign of wilting after the infatuation stage. But do they deserve it?
Yes. Yes they do. Their music has progressively developed, they’ve worked hard and intelligently to increase their profile, their shows are joyous and with latest album ‘In Search Of The Miraculous’, written an album so good that they absolutely deserve whatever comes their way next. ‘Cedars’ and ‘Jonatan’ are the best starting points - they totally nail what is so wonderful about the band, a casual, loose, confident pop shimmer, effortlessly sung, played like THE SMITHS covering THE SUNDAYS with an edge of SAVAGES thrown in lest they venture into the twee. It’s brilliantly NOW, yet chucking influences around with gleeful abandon.
Album opener ‘Murmuration’ is a heavier but no less lush affair, ‘International Waters’ twists and turns on its axis and pushes vocals to the foreground, and ‘Argonauts’ drifts by dreamily - it’s enough to make a grown hack weep. On ‘Black Net’, there’s some wonderful percussion adding to the tension on this exceptional grower of a song, and ‘Ocean Wave’ hurtles by on impatient bass and skittering drums and then leaps bizarrely into a chorus THE SUGARCUBES would have been happy with back in the day. ‘Girl Of The Houses’ is a slight misstep, somewhat in awe of the songs that surround it, yet it still manages to shine a little in its own awkward way. But fear not. The fist-pumping, life-affirming ‘Satellite’ gets the balance sorted once more, and if closer ‘To Be Forgotten’ doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will. Built around a simple riff, it’s a wonderful slice of pure guitar pop.
It’s so rare to find an album where all the right elements are in the right place at the right time, where the hype is justified, where the songs speak for themselves, and where you can thumb your nose at Influencers and Fake News and YouTube "stars" and think “I went in search of the miraculous, and I found it”. Now spread the word.
Tracklist
01. Murmuration
02. Cedars
03. Jonatan
04. International Waters
05. Argonauts
06. Black Net
07. Ocean Wave
08. Girl Of The Houses
09. Satellite
10. To Be Forgotten
Line-up
Jo Bevan - Vocals,
Simon Drowner - Bass
Rob Hardy - Guitar
Caz Hellbent - Drums
Website
https://desperatejournalist.co.uk / https://www.facebook.com/DesperateJournalist
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10
Comments powered by CComment