The Charlatans

The Charlatans are back with their 11th studio album, more than 20 years after their first hit back in June 1990 with ‘The Only One I Know’. During this time they have experienced huge highs and lows, and if nothing else can be described as being resilient and industrious. They have also scored 22 Top 40 singles, and 3 number 1 albums. However, there is much more to the Charlatans than just banging out a new album every couple of years.

‘Who We Touch’ is a strong album, with more than an acknowledgment of the heady days of Madchester.

It all starts with the fantastic lead single from the album “Love is Everything”, before cutting to the very retro ‘My Foolish Pride’. Both are real staple Charlatans tracks. ‘Your Pure Soul’ is a more modern track; the sort you’d expect from a singer / songwriter rather than a group; it has that real solo edge to it. Next comes one of my highlights – ‘Smash The System’ – this track is very different with a slow start before the drums and chorus cut it with some gusto; quite different from the rst of the album and deserves to be played loud. Next is another favourite – ‘Intimacy’ which does what it says on the tin, creating a slower more intimate track that works really well, especially after what came before. ‘Sincerity’ follows ‘Intimacy’ and is a more upbeat track with a bit of an Inspiral Carpets feel to it, along with some frantic chanting on the chorus – great track. ‘Trust in Desire’ follows with strange opening, almost sounds like playing the music backwards, whilst doing a Bono impression; it does improve as the organ synths cut in and a mid-tempo indie pop tune appears.

‘When I Wonder’ is next with some jangly guitars before Tim Burgess adds his unique vocals over the top; another track that takes you back a couple of decades (and almost more – bit of The Doors in here). ‘Oh’ follows and is a real departure from The Charlatans normal sound; it’s very atmospheric, leaning towards Coldplay, both vocally and musically. A real epic track. ‘You Can Swim’ is a mellow track to close down the official proceedings, however don’t hit the stop button when it finished; wait a few minutes a you’ll get a very strange but enthralling hidden bonus track (‘I Sing The Body Eclectic’) with Penny Rimbauld (once of punk band Crass) on rambling eccentric vocal duties over a psychedelic backdrop (The Doors again?). A very bizarre track, closing a remarkably top notch album.

There’s not many acts that can last 2 decades in the business and still create and deliver such high quality music.