The Strange Death Of Liberal England Forward March! by: Grace Arena Mon:17-Sep-07 Label: Fantastic Plastic Year: 2007 WB rating 73 out of 100

The Strange Death of Liberal England fuse the English dream of afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches with the passion and attitude of an idiosyncratic indie/post rock band. On Forward March, the debut mini-album from the Portsmouth, England five piece, the band have woven a kaleidoscope of influences, drawing parallels to Arcade Fire and the experimental post-pop anthems of The Cure with their towering harmonies and multifaceted instrumentation. Their music is charismatic, honest, and successful.

Both this mystery and musicality are evident from the opening chords on Forward March. While the band often uses musical patterns, such as a simple strum or beat, to establish a tune, their journey to dissonant crescendos avoids the pitfalls of formulation. Beguiling to say the least, it is captivating to discover how the group layer and blend their style gradually through each song, frequently ending with repetitive wails and chants.

‘Modern Folk Song’ begins with a dull ruse, pretending to be yet-another docile ballad, it hits with a wall of guitars and instrumentation, in time proving to be an album highlight. This track fully demonstrates the diversity of the band’s range and orchestration, working with different shades of tone and pitch and experimenting with vocal acrobatics. Another of Forward March’s more infectious tracks is also its shortest, ‘An Old Fashioned War’s aggression evoking images of fans screaming at English football, chanted lyrics like ‘We’ve heard it all before’ and ‘Forward March’ prime fodder for hyper-aggressive alpha-males. This track sounds strikingly familiar, but it’s difficult to figure out from where and when.

Singer Adam Woolway’s endearing, fervent and sometimes grating cry is a major reason for the album’s success as it draws the listener into a world of broken hearts, wars and solitude. At first listen it is infuriatingly difficult to understand Woolway’s lyrics, but in time this lessens, the twang and raspy passion in his vocals communicating much, even when words are deemed inaudible. This initially ambiguous state draws the ear closer to the convoluted and often aggressive tone of Woolway, which is made more intriguing when contrasted by the folk quality of his melodies.

If the listener can get past the discordant twang of Woolway’s vocals, it is difficult not to like this album. While not daring, the band are definitely proficient, with their catchy riffs and complimentary harmonies it is hard not to get lost in their pre-war environment. Forward March gets under the skin with its down to earth melodies, lyrics and style, and its flow ties all the tracks together nicely, ensuring potency. However it is hard to not constantly keep detecting the strong influences that shine through all aspects of Forward March. And although these evolve from song-to-song (The Cure, Arcade Fire, British Sea Power, mashed with traditional folk and military music), this “I’ve heard it before” feeling distracts from the band’s obvious desire to fashion an individual style.

The Strange Death of Liberal England are yet to come into their own, but their music is likeable and honest. What will set this band apart from the rest is further investment in Woolway’s vocals, coupled with the kick of the natural magnetism that flashes through their music.