The Permanent Smilers release their debut LP, a 13-track eclectic album of various styles and song-lengths that will keep you guessing about what is coming next. The album opens with the track 'Identity Crisis' which gives the album its name, a ballsy, punky attitude-filled number that sounds like Paul Weller at his peak. Raw in its production this is a great kick-start to the album thanks to its quick pace and well deserving as the lead track. 'Uh-Oh' is a bit slower but echoes the Beatles at their trippiest best with a catchy chorus and recognisable production and shifts in style. 'You Know Where To Go' is back to the style of the first track with vibes of the Arctic Monkeys and there's plenty of energy over its four minutes. 'Elastic' is much more focussed on its sound rather than its lyrics and it works thanks to the layering of the different sounds and Richard Lemongrass's simple but evocative lyrics. 'Just No Good' is a bit rockier whilst 'It Doesn't Work Anymore' has a bit more punk atttitude again but still boasts that choral hook. 'Ghosts' is the slow swagger number on the album with a smooth, almost-jazz, feel, it's music suggesting an appropriately haunting style. 'Rebel' has an ominous build up into a track that fades a little into the background; whilst Voodoo switches back to the Beatles style of production and is much more fun as a listen. 'You Know Where To Go' is a perky interlude at sub-sixty-seconds as if they wanted to bridge with some guitar but is otherwise a little pointless; the clock-ticking that bookend 'Unforeseen' surround a neat little mid-tempo indie number; with 'See Through You' a little rockier and grittier. Closer 'Sleepyhead' takes childhood imagery and wraps it up in a stripped-back number that wraps the album up neatly. As the title would suggest the album struggles from cohesiveness in styles but it's never an album that grows tiresome and there's enough love flowing through the production to keep the listener happy. The best tracks are at the beginning, but it never shames itself. (7/10)
Rising
from the ashes of ‘The Lemongrowers’, the Permanent Smilers have released a new
album called ‘One Real Big Identity Crisis’. We spoke to frontman Richard about
the album ahead of its release.
How would you describe your
debut album?
It’s
a real mixture of songs and influences. You’ve got a little bit of jazz on
there, a little bit of pop, indie, alternative, all sorts of things. It’s one
identity crisis of an album!
What it was like recording
it?
It
was a lot of fun. There are just three of us essentially: a drummer, a bass
player and I do a little bit of a lot of things. We also get in a trumpeter and
I write the songs, and take them to these guys, and we work on them together,
taking them to a little studio in South Norfolk and hopefully get a good
result.
What’s it like working on
such different instruments?
I
enjoy doing it. I usually write on guitar and then the songs tend to develop a
life of their own, as they’re in different genres and have different feelings
to them. When I get into writing a song it becomes apparent where the song is
going and as a band we can take it where it needs to be.
Do you have an instruments
that you really like playing, or would like to play?
Something
that I tried playing when I was at school was the tuba and that was a
nightmare! Consequently I’ve only really managed to get a tune out of something
with strings on it, piano and keyboards being the exception to that.
‘Identity Crisis’ is the
lead single from the record. How would you describe it?
It’s
probably the most punky song on the album. As I said there’s a little bit of
all sorts of things going on, on the album, but ‘Identity Crisis’ has a little
bit more attitude than most.
The album artwork has a circus
themed; what was the reason behind that?
It’s
to reflect the idea of [variety]; in a circus you have all the acts like a
strongman and a clown. On the cover of the CD we have an elephant riding a
unicycle, and it’s just to reflect the different sounds and the different
things going on on the album.
Does your band name ‘The
Permanent Smilers’ come from clowns then?
No,
it was actually a song I wrote about twenty years ago when I was in a band
called The Lemongrowers. After the song I had a long break from music but when
I got back into it I thought – The Permanent Smilers – that will fit as a band
name.
You’ve also worked on videos
such as the distinctive animation of ‘Spider Song’. How did that come about?
They
were done when I was living up in the North of England, in Rochdale. I was
doing a little bit of music up there and I got to know a guy up there who lived
in Hebden Bridge who was into graphics, video and animation. I was lucky enough
to persuade him to do a couple of videos for us.
Do you also have any live
plans for the music?
Not
at the moment. I tend to not play live, least because a lot of the music on the
album is very much layered up, with 20-30 tracks per song and plenty of
percussion, with many several keyboards, guitars and trumpets. To do the songs
justice I’d need to get 10 or 20 people on stage and that’s not really
realistic! It’s possible that I could do something acoustic or a 3-piece, but
at the moment to get it to reflect the album, or sound anything like it does on
the album, would be a tall order.
Do you have any big
ambitions for 2017?
We’ve
got an EP which I’ve been working on under a different name – Seven 2 Five –
which is effectively the same people who are behind ‘The Permanent Smilers’ but
we also have Claire Hirst working on that, who was David Bowie’s saxophonist,
so we’re really lucky to get her on board, and appreciated that. In regards to
2017 I think I’ll be starting on another album which I’m looking forward to. I
always like recording and writing!
And finally would you ever
consider recording a Christmas song and what’s your favourite pop festive song?
I’d
always consider it. I have written something, but whether it’s actually available
at the moment or in the pipeline, but there’s a song called ‘Mojo’, which I
wrote, that’s a Christmas song which may or may not be about this year. In
terms of what I listen to I really like ‘Stop the Cavalry’ – that’s my
favourite Christmas song by quite some way.
The Divine Comedy-sounding The Permanent Smilers are prepare their debut album 'One Real Big Identity Crisis' and have featured one of the thirteen tracks on their Soundcloud page, which you can hear below.
