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Album Review

Pete & The Pirates
Little Death Stolen Recordings

Article written by Ged M - Feb 25, 2008

Stolen released our compilation of the year in 2007 and they’ve just issued a contender for album of the year of 2008. “Little death” is the French term for orgasm and this is 36 minutes of continuous aural pleasure at the hands of the pirate boys. Like few albums these days, it has an internal coherence – you can listen from start to finish and there’s a consistent feel. Part of that is down to the excellent production of Gareth Parton from the Go! Team whose sympathetic settings make even songs you’ve heard previously on the EPs sound brand new.

They clatter though their ruffian rock in next to no time, from the rumbly, melodic ‘Ill Love’ to the Undertones-like ‘Bright Lights’ via a number of old favourites, including the stompingly great ‘Knots’ and ‘Come On Feet’. Slowing the pace but not breaking the mood is the melancholy ‘She Doesn’t Belong’, heard twice before (if you include the Tap Tap version) but never more heartbreaking than here. The fact that it stops one second shy of 2 minutes just adds to the cruel brilliance of the song. ‘Mr Understanding’ is 3 minutes of perfect hook-heavy power pop, while they let the boat out with ‘Song For Today’, an unprecedented 4 minutes of strummy romanticism. When it produces such straightforwardly great pop as this, it’s very easy to sign up to this musical piracy.

(PS: If you buy your record from Rough Trade, you’ll get a bonus disc of B-sides and other songs plus a shambolic 15 minute home movie of them twatting around. Well worth it, for the songs at least!)

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/peteandthepirates

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