Seven years is a long time, but that’s precisely how long it took Manchester’s the Longcut to ensure their new album, ‘Arrows’, was as sharp as possible. In fact, it took three attempts to get there, because the first two were scrapped. That means that what we have before us is actually the third version of their third studio album. Is it third time lucky all round, perhaps?
Previously, the band revelled in the sort of icy post-punk gloom peddled by greats such as the Cure, but things have been shaken up for ‘Arrows’. Pulsating electronic beats and synths drive a more indie-dance based fusion that runs alongside the evolution of a band like Leeds’ Hookworms. But, similarly, the Longcut have managed to retain an element of their core appeal.
The title track opens the album, with militaristic percussion blending seamlessly into a driving beat while synths swirl around it. It’s a sparkling gem, built on a gorgeous wall of noise with dreamy vocals soaring above. Punches then hints at the band’s spiky past as thunderous, industrial guitars combine with Six.by Seven-like vocals.
It’s Popic that steals the album, though, and in glorious fashion. It’s an epic, eight minute masterpiece that concludes with a brass-inflected explosion. It points to the exhilarating highs that fellow Mancunians James have often scaled, but with the same kind of intoxicating electronica that was stamped all over LCD Soundsystem’s ‘American Dream’ last year.
Lead single Deathmask is another monster. It boldly arrives following an ominously lengthy intro, as an arpeggiated synth line leads to frantic percussion. It’s menacingly chaotic and was conceived by Stuart Ogilvie as the weather changed for the worse while he was walking home “in a pretty shitty mood”.
Closer Monuments – an early contender for album title – is another behemoth, clocking in at over seven minutes of blissful noise. It evokes memories of the ‘90s shoegaze movement as delicate keyboard melodies swoop over the buzz below, catching light in a mid section that then disappears into its own vapour trail. By way of contrast, the remainder of the second half of the album is a lighter, yet still compelling, presence that lives off the considerable energy generated by its first half.
From the short, punchy one-word song titles, to the thumping electronic beats, to the mesmerising walls of sound, everything seems spot on with ‘Arrows’. Those seven years spent painstakingly sculpting and re-sculpting appear to have paid dividends.
The Longcut Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri May 04 2018 - MANCHESTER Soup Kitchen
Sun May 06 2018 - GLASGOW Stereo
Thu May 10 2018 - LONDON Lexington
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