Album review
Who says a leopard
never changes its spots? In 2009 Jon-Lee Martin hid himself away
behind a pseudonym and a nightmarish translucent mask as he let rip
one of the most psychotic albums of the noughties with cult act KONG.
That album, ‘Snake Magnet’, remains, for better or for worse, a
force of nature, absolutely essential listening to a certain breed of
self-flagellating hardcore fan, but it also represents a musical
territory almost antipodean to ‘Death Cap at Anglezarke’, the
frank debut album from his new project Then Thickens, which may just
be one of the most important records of the year.
Then Thickens has its
roots in the ugly personal fallout of KONG’s behavioural, alcoholic
and chemical excesses, which near-disastrously blurred the lines
between Martin and his unhinged on-stage persona Magpie. When a
couple of his friends died, the tortured Martin realised that enough
was enough, and started writing for Then Thickens by way of an escape
route, a solo project at the time which has now expanded to become a
full six-piece band, including Rolo Tomassi graduate Joseph Thorpe on
bass. With the mask well and truly off, Martin bares himself and his
troubles for all to see, creating as mature and atmospheric a
collection of heartfelt rock songs as you could hope to find in the
process.
Striking a perfect
balance between melancholic and uplifting, there is an effortless
grandeur running through the album which swings between Foo Fighters
drive and Arcade Fire expansiveness like a pendulum moving through
the haunting smoke of Martin’s burning diary, but the really
special thing is just how accessible it is. Tunes like ‘Mathew’
and ‘Worms’ channel Martin’s impassioned emotion into dynamic
verses and memorable choruses that in a fair and just society would
be all over the radio, while swung mid-tempo number ‘Any Other
Thing’ gently grabs you by the hand on first listen and will have
you compulsively replaying the record for days to come. Standout
track ‘Tiny Legs’ encapsulates Then Thickens’ compelling
ideology that deeply personal music can also be irresistibly
listenable, its timeless melodies sitting comfortably within a warm
yet sincere song which quickly develops a close relationship with the
hairs on the back of your neck.
These four tracks alone
could have made one hell of an EP, but there are more strings to the
‘Death Cap at Anglezarke’ bow than this one, with Martin and his
band of merry men (and woman, stand up Helen Thorpe, whose backing
vocals add so much depth to proceedings) unafraid of kicking out the
jams or of taking the tempo and mood down low. Results are mixed when
the energy levels rise; the stomping ‘Restart Your Heart’ is
fantastic, swaggering with sixth-pint confidence while still
maintaining the band’s signature elegance, but the clunky ‘Death
Cap’ is the morning after, sounding like an early-noughties Franz
Ferdinand B-side.
Thankfully this is the
only false move on an album which opens in jaw-dropping style with
‘Heaven Won’t Wait’ – slowly building from atmospheric vocals
into a life-affirming maelstrom of sound – and which carries these
anthemic sensibilities with it throughout. They emerge most clearly
in the outro to the surprisingly vulnerable ‘Run Off’, which
elsewhere follows a tenderly understated path dripping in emotion,
while perhaps the most haunting cut of all is the stirring,
down-tempo ‘Ritalin Love’, which deals candidly with ‘those
little white pills’ before breaking into a crashing outro.
Closing track ‘Wasp
In Your Mouth’ touches most Then Thickens bases over the course of
its five and half minutes, and while not quite reaching the giddy
heights achieved elsewhere on the record, is a fitting way to round
off an ambitious and profoundly powerful album. ‘Death Cap at
Anglezarke’ is an aural account of one man’s self-help and
redemption, but its inspiring combination of reflection and tentative
hope makes it absolutely essential listening for everyone. With KONG,
Martin won the hearts and minds of a devoted minority of the
music-listening public; with Then Thickens, he is coming for the
world.
Watch 'Tiny Legs'
- Joe Ponting
Death Cap At Anglezarke is out now on Hatch RecordsWatch 'Tiny Legs'