Neon Tetra (label)
22 March 2010 (released)
12 March 2010
The opening tracks on this album are 'Jim’s Killer’ and 'New Town Killers’ – you know this is not going to be clouds and fluffy bunnies thereafter.
Isa & The Filthy Tongues have built a fair following on the back of their dark and brooding music and this album continues the form in fine manner.
Stacey Chavis (Isa) has a voice that is ice-cold but still manages to put over an emotional content to the songs and the rest of the band – Derek Kelly, Fin Wilson & Martin Metcalfe – and perfectly capable of setting up mesmeric and deep melanges of sound.
'New Town Killers’ has a thrashing and punky sound with guitars crying in the background and builds to a massive conclusion while 'Honey For Sale’ coming next has a much cooler and slightly corrupted feel to it as if indicating the wide variety of styles and moods that the band are capable of.
Their various influences do show through from time to time – they have listened to a lot of Velvet Underground and Echo & The Bunnymen in their time – but the combinations are often remarkable: 'Big Blue’ has a lot of Echo in it but every now and again a moment of pure Link Wray finds its way through and then 'City of Roses’ comes at you with a U2 backbeat crossed with a completely offset vocal and creates a very cool and individual sound.
'Beautiful Girl’ shows the real ability of Isa to stop you in your tracks – you almost feel as though you are listening to a murder victim apologising – but there is no lack of emotion and she avoids the Nico trick of alienating the listener 'Call Me’ isn’t the Blondie number and it is the most classic number on the album – and the most single-like – with a stunning vocal and a blistering charge from start to finish.
Every track appeals in a different way but always the music is involving and deeply cast, sometimes wistful and sometimes threatening but never 'background’ and if proof were needed that Isa & The Filthy Tongues are able to develop and build a career, then this is it.
