There’s every chance you’ve never heard of Little Barrie yet so it’s easy to assume this is a debut album. However, ‘King Of The Waves’ is actually their third and it’s their best yet.
Having released their debut single in 1999 it took until 2005 for their first full release with ‘We Are Little Barrie’, an album which was critically well received although struggled from a lack of radio play. 2007 saw them team up with Dan The Automator (who has recently been producing for Kasabian) to release the follow up ‘Stand Your Ground’ which lead singer and guitarist Barrie Cadogan describes as “good, but in hindsight we probably could have found a different way of doing it”.
The resulting four year hiatus sees Cadogan and bassist Lewis Wharton return with a new drummer, Virgil Howe (formerly of the wonderfully eccentric Amorphous Androgynous) and a new outlook on the album creating process. Cadogan has spent time as Primal Scream’s touring lead guitarist (he’s currently on the road with the ‘Screamadelica’ tour) as well as working with Paul Weller on his last two universally lauded albums.
Working with the legendary Edwyn Collins as they did on their debut, Little Barrie went into recording for ‘King Of The Waves’ with the aim of creating an album that felt more like their electrifying live performances. The result is the sound of a band that has matured and are pleasing themselves rather than striving for mainstream acceptance. Referencing the here today, gone tomorrow types who go straight from Radio 1 darlings to the scrapheap, Cadogan says;
“We probably thought we were paddling upstream, with all the hype for other bands. We didn’t know it at the time but it’s worked in our favour. The only effect any of our experiences has had on us, is knowing not to do what people tell you, you should do and do what you want to do.”
Kicking off the album, ‘Surf Hell’ is a sharp blast of distorted guitars and rumbling drums with a bass-line that never lets up, quickly followed by a 60’s rhythm and blues style stomper in ‘How Come’. If you shut your eyes you feel as though you’re sat in the corner of the recording studio as straight away you notice the sound is rawer than their previous two records.
‘Does The Halo Rust?’ combines shuffling drums with a squealing guitar while a pair of smooth, hazy songs, ‘Precious Pressure’ and ‘New Diamond Love’ sound as though they’ve been taken right out of the soundtrack for a Guy Ritchie film. The feeling of playing live resonates throughout; you can almost feel yourself in a cramped, sweaty club swaying along to title track ‘King Of The Waves’.
Howe says the key was being more relaxed about recording. “Feeling the red light fever is what makes your recordings sound different to your live performance, so the more relaxed you are, the more like your live performance it’s going to be.”
That live feeling is maintained and certain tracks sound a bit like the debut releases of The Music and Kasabian, particularly on ‘Now We’re Nowhere’. Finding comparables to Little Barrie is awkward however as they draw from so many styles.
‘Dream To Live’ has an almost jazz feel to it with it’s shimmering guitar. ‘I Can’t Wait’ is a bass heavy, soon to be live favourite and album closer ‘Money In Paper’ sees Edwyn Collins join the band for backing vocals. The main influence seems to be of old school rock and roll, blended with soul beats and punk riffs. Perhaps its greatest asset is that it doesn’t fit neatly into one particular genre but transcends many styles without ever feeling disjointed.
All in all this is a very confident, mature album. Little Barrie have found their own sound now and are much better for it. I’m not sure they have any instant singles here so they’re unlikely to get the benefit many lesser bands have had of massive promotion by major radio and press but this is a hugely accomplished piece of work.
“I feel like we’ve got nothing to prove, that it’s all done from music we want to make. We’ve just made an album we really like!” says Howe, summing things up perfectly.
Album Rating: 8/10
‘King Of The Waves’ by Little Barrie is released today. You can listen to ‘Surf Hell’ below.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Having released their debut single in 1999 it took until 2005 for their first full release with ‘We Are Little Barrie’, an album which was critically well received although struggled from a lack of radio play. 2007 saw them team up with Dan The Automator (who has recently been producing for Kasabian) to release the follow up ‘Stand Your Ground’ which lead singer and guitarist Barrie Cadogan describes as “good, but in hindsight we probably could have found a different way of doing it”.
