The Blue Aeroplanes could easily be considered forgotten veterans of the British guitar pop scene, with no success of note since 'Swagger' was well-received around 21 years ago. In spite of that, 'Anti-Gravity' sounds surprisingly contemporary, partly due to the indie revival fronted by bands like The Hold Steady, who’ve made half-spoken, half-sung vocals rather fashionable again.
 Admittedly, Gerard Langley’s beat poetry is self-consciously inventive, and his ironic strut will not be for everybody. At points it works; ‘Pretty Head’s jangly guitar buzz is hypnotic next to rhyming assertions that if you “Wanna get taller? Think. Wanna get smaller? Shrink”. On the closing ‘Cancer Song’, Langley claims that “The writers were right all along”, like a poetic justification for dedication to his art.
On ‘One World Passport’ they work less well, sounding clumsy and almost intrusive behind what is easily the catchiest groove on the whole album, which sees the Aeroplanes soar between Blues, Americana and Surf Rock. Touring mates R.E.M. are clearly an influence as well, particularly on the guitar work, which sounds effortlessly attractive on the opener ‘Sulphur’ and ‘My Old Haunts’ (the latter features indie songstress St Vincent).
There’s almost an audible groan when the band switch to a more Americana sound on the second half of the record, but it ultimately turns out to be the stronger side. ‘Go Along With Me On’ evolves into the best song of the bunch, with pumping horns and cascading strings intertwining wonderfully. Less impressive is the plonking garage rocker ’25 Kinds of Love’, which features a pointless solo and repeats its chorus to death over 5 minutes and 25 seconds (the longest track on the record).
However if you can ignore such filler, and the polarising sarcasms of Langley, 'Anti Gravity' is a strong, interesting and varied record that shows exactly why the band were an influence on, arguably, an entire movement of artists.
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