Imperial Leisure

Imperial Leisure’s highly anticipated second album “Death To The One Trick Pony” represents a continuation of the innovation they displayed on their debut album “The Art Of Saying Nothing”. From the complex song structures and good use of unique sounds it’s obvious that they’ve had slightly more time in the studio this time round. Gone are the rapping and turn table scratches, replaced with a surprisingly good use of synth and keyboards (instruments often over- or misused, are instead played with elegance to enhance the overall sound rather than driving it). The clever and cheeky lyricism is happily still very much present.

The main difference between these two albums would be in the genre. They may have debuted with an out and out ska-punk album, but have blossomed into a unique band employing the best sounds from multiple genres. In a world where many bands are happy to regurgitate whatever sound worked for them last year Imperial Leisure are clearly musician’s musicians, their creativity has not been subdued with success and this album makes that abundantly clear.

It all starts off with a deep atmospheric groover. A tom-tom based drum beat is overlapped subtly with a reggae guitar rhythm, swirling synth line, and then a calm start to the vocals. From here the drunken horns sound the beginning of a growling bass line all of which serve to bolster the opening lyrics eventually working to a shout: “You know what… You must be f***king joking… So now you’ve seen the light!?” From here the album launches into tracks combining the ferocious attitude of punk and ska, rhythms and lyrical protests of reggae, and the pop sensibilities of modern indie.

“All In a Good Time” is easily a stand out track. It is a ballad about being left behind in the awkward transition from one’s teenage years to adulthood. Somehow Imperial Leisure manage to swing from an optimistic mid-tempo chord progression to an eerie “haunted circus” synth interlude then to a frankly beautiful horn melody (reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s “Atom Heart Mother”) while keeping the flow of the song perfectly intact. This is followed up by a quick barrage of punk and indie in “Dead Model” and “Thin Line”. An appreciation of album structure is clearly present here; the mood of album rises and falls organically, emphasizing the differences between the tracks.

The main single from the album is “London to Brighton” and is sure to be a crowd pleaser; nice and quick with catchy lyrics, great vocal melodies, and a classic indie-inspired guitar line that will guarantee a busy dance floor singing along with every chorus. The real surprise here is how a song so catchy could have three such unique verses. You always know the chorus when you hear it, but each verse is slightly different from the last (listen out for the bassist stealing the show in the second one). Once again however the song is crafted so well you don’t even notice this as the transition to and from the chorus is perfect, and unforced, every time. This is a single that even the most stubborn musicians will be able to appreciate as all of these little changes add up to well rounded interesting song that you won’t be able to get out of your head.

The final song on the album “A Song for Paul” is a graceful instrumental that rounds it out in a great way. A very full sound that builds from an understated clean guitar riff entwined with an over-hanging organ brings a moment of peaceful serenity to a mostly fast paced album that never seems to lose its energy. From here a rather sobered up trumpet and piano melody carries you gently to the albums close.

Overall this is a great effort from a great band, and the album easily does its job. It makes you want to go and see an Imperial Leisure live show. It is upbeat and meaningful with fantastic musicianship all around, and the continual shift in focus between indie, ska, reggae, and punk blurs the lines between the genres and will keep you interested and entertained. More over it will get you moving.