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St Vitus Dance
Glypotheque
Probe Plus
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Article
written by James G
Apr 15, 2008.
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When I was at secondary school, some older mates of mine were in a band called St Vitus Dance. This was the mid 80s and I saw them play in Windsor, having changed their name to The Other Side and recruited a new singer by the name of Andrew Weatherall (yes, THAT Andrew Weatherall). Hence my interest in listening to this lot. Was it my old chums? Well, no. But this version of St Vitus Dance also have a story attached to them, having first released an album (Love Me, Love My Dogma) in 1987, then parted.
So here we are now, after some 20 years spent apart and with the band members presumably approaching middle age. And does ‘Glypotheque’ sound like a bunch of 80s indiekids turned into grownups? Well, it’d be hard not to, but that doesn’t manifest itself in a bad way. St Vitus Dance’s Waterboysy, plucky, strummy, almost folky rock makes for a pleasant, if somewhat lacklustre listen.
Here and there – notably on ‘Retake’ ‘Human Interest Story’ and ‘ Seriously Listing’ - they come up with songs which show that their hiatus hasn’t dulled their ability to write nifty tunes. Noel Blake’s vocal tells his stories with character aplenty, and I think they work best with a less crowded, less ‘muso’ set up. Too often, though, songs that start promisingly, wander off into meandering workouts. This is 2008, chaps! It’s all lean, efficient and to the point nowadays! No room for those flabby solos!
Seriously though, this is the sound of a band enjoying themselves, and therefore is an enjoyable listen. The world – musical, and otherwise – has changed hugely since their last release, and St Vitus Dance’s place in the current scheme of things is difficult to establish. But no matter. I’ll sum up ‘Glypotheque’ with one word. Seasoned.
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