A shame the reviewer was off the mark with his interpretation of I Know but other than that, it’s a pretty great review. This album has been awash with plaudits. All richly deserved, of course. It is well braw!
It has been a little over 10 years since Catherine Anne Davies and Bernard Butler first decided to team up with each other and work on producing music together. They quickly felt they had the makings of an album together. Little by little things came together, building on their work together when time allowed. A few years down the track with Catherine working on her on solo career as The Anchoress, and then being part of the touring band with Simple Minds and in between those things juggling with continuing work with Butler on what would become In Memory Of My Feelings. Talk about multi-tasking!
The album was all but completed for a number of years. Davies and Butler suffered knock backs. Record companies would show an interest and then inexplicably go cold on the idea. But both Catherine and Bernard knew they had a diamond here! They just needed someone else to see, feel and hear it! Enter Pete Paphides and his newly established record label, Needle Mythology. He knew the gem that was before him. And so, with one last little hiccup along the way (the test pressing of the album causing a problem which meant a one month delay from the initial release date of September 18th), Friday – at last – saw the release of In Memory Of My Feelings, on vinyl, CD and in digital format and through streaming services.
Was it worth the wait? My opinion – a resounding YES!
The Breakdown: It’s beautiful melancholia. Catherine has a knack for that. Its sparse chords and mirrored vocal harmonies exude fear and regret but…there is light. The best melancholic songs always bring a hope with them. There is hope. It ends in hope. There is love. Strength. And the offering of courage.
Ten Good Reasons: It has been my earwarm all day! There is sass and sensuality and sultriness. Relationships when they hit the rocks and flatline. Do we push on? Is there any sense in doing so? That’s what I hear in this song. Again, impeccable harmonies and fabulous guitar work from Butler. The final 30 seconds of the song is just…perfection. That repetition of “what a mess we’re in” and then the ending piano chords. Geez…I know that is something. Or is a nod to something familiar but I can’t put my finger on it! (Catherine might tell me if she sees this?)
Sabotage (Looks So Easy): Rocking. Just – pow – straight in! Intelligent lyrics. Just punchy and ballsy. Again full of sass and attitude. We’re not gonna take deceit lying down.
In Memory Of My Feelings: It’s like three songs in one! What a break up song! Just, the musical weaving and blending, ducking and diving. The harmonies! My god, the harmonies on this album are flawless! Delivery on the lyrics “because you can’t take it back / you’ve done it now / and that is that” during the bridge breaks (right term?) are just beautiful. This could be my favourite track on the album. It just has such layers to it. And the dark and light of it. It interplays with mood and colour. Light and shade. It’s fabulous!
I Know: Or is THIS my favourite track? THE HARMONIES! I want to die! And with Butler’s guitar riding it all underneath…geez! It really is a beauty this one. Tenderness. Such tenderness to it! A love that is blossoming yet already faltering? Everything is all tentative. It’s beautiful, this. Just really beautiful.
Judas: LET’S ROCK! Just to dry up those tears shed from the beauty of the previous track. It’s a rollercoaster, this album! A rollercoaster of gems! Just absorb the sensuality and sultriness of this one. And just eat up that jangling guitar. Sell it to me, brother! (I don’t know what I’m saying anymore. Lol)
No More Tears To Cry: It’s almost a gospel tune. What fabulous lines “here in my mouth / here in my heart / is the place where the hunger starts”. And fabulous guitar work for BB. Esp. on this track. His guitar work is strongest on this. Great middle solo. Oh, it’s SSOOO good!
The Waiting Game: I don’t usually hear much of Manic Street Preachers influence on Catherine, but I hear it really strongly on this track. Abandonment? It’s the worst! It’s the daisy petal game, this song. “He loves me. He loves me not.” We’ve all done it, even if just metaphorically most times…picking them petals off the daisy. Life is a waiting game…for buses, trains, planes, people to tell you they love you and want to be with you. This song is catchy AF.
The Patron Saint Of The Last Cause: When you don’t feel you are worthy of anyone’s attention or interest or kindness. Melancholic again, but delivered to sound lighthearted. “Hey, I’m a fuck up. Don’t be bothering yourself with me” to an upbeat tune.
F.O.H.: Again, those bloody harmonies. Hell! And then…
To be honest…this is the only track I am kinda grappling with. I don’t know what to make of it still. I am not saying I don’t like it. I just don’t find it so easy to express how I feel about it/what I’m getting from it. The jury’s out a little…but that’s okay. If we say this is one only song I am really not gelling with that well with then, that gives this album a massive 9/10!
The Bonus tracks:
Live To Tell is a stellar version of the Madonna original. Much more emotional to me. Catherine’s vocal performance utterly perfect. Lovely space left on the track too. Excellently executed. Better than the original.
The Patron Saint Of The Lost Cause (Harmonium Version) the air of lightheartedness on the album version is diminished somewhat by the barebones harmonium sound. It isn’t a bad thing. I really like both versions.
Why this album was such a long push to get to be released is truly perplexing having listened to it several times now. The rejecting record company’s loss and Needle Mythology’s gain. Congratulations to Catherine and Bernard. And well done to the both of you for having the courage of your convictions to know that what you had produced here deserved to have an audience because you were both SSOO right!
In Memory Of My Feelings is a very strong album. Great lyrics, fabulous harmonies, musically “on point”. Everything just fits.
I can’t recommend this album enough!
It’s near faultless.
It has to be a 9/10!
A couple of little snippets from the latest Mojo magazine – Jim’s fave offering from the Bunnymen and In Memory Of My Feelings gets reviewed.
P.S. I wish I could be as unaffected as Jim is at the thought of someone not thinking of me with the fondest of thoughts – as the idea of him feeling that way with me (ie: he cannae stand me!) makes me want to cry my eyes out.
In this month’s latest copy of Uncut, there is a short interview with Catherine about the collaborative work with Bernard Butler resulting in the album as well as a very positive review of the album itself.
The album is due for release on September 18th and is available to pre-order HERE
I have just been perusing the latest issue of Electronic Sound magazine and was taking a cursory glance through the reviews section. King Creosote has a new release out called KY-10 (I’m going to assume it has something to do with his postcode and not anything to do with lubricant – as I think he is a Michelle – aka a Fifer…see what I did there?).
The review given has me rather intrigued. I think I may have to give King Kenny’s latest a listen this evening…
The follow up to 2017’s Wireless World sees the Newcastle duo expand on the lyrics and guest vocalists and they take the funk up a notch too! A fantastic trip into the topical point of how not every idea we have is the right idea and should be executed blindingly.
Following is my track-by-track thoughts on the new album.
Track one – Frames And Cages: Bang up-to-date but with undertones of Eastern mysticism and the soft wave of the signature Warm Digits sound. Pulsing rhythms through it. Love the ending. A strong album opener.
Track two – Feel The Panic (feat. The Lovely Eggs): First time I listened to it I felt it should have been the lead single, just my opinion. Great catchy lyrics. “Are you infallible? Or just gullible?” Andy’s drumming is a highlight on this. Great guitar licks from Steve as well. They bring out such a big sound for a duo. This track could currently not be any more topical!
Track three – The View From Nowhere (feat. Emma Pollock): A bit more of a laidback groove from the guys this track. Again, great lyrics. Great guitar licks from Steve.
Track four – I’m Okay, You’re Okay: The melody! I love this track. I actually find it very emotional. It’s reminiscent of something off Autobahn for me – just….the emotional impact of it. Gorgeous electronica. But also very organic. A very signature Warm Digits track for me.
Track five – Fools Tomorrow (feat. Paul Smith): Wow! What a track! The funk weaving through and Paul Smith’s voice works ssooo well with the sound. And the beat break around the three minute mark in the song? Divine! Again, tracks on this album are becoming incredibly topical.
Track six – Replication: Again, the melody that starts the track just pulls you in and then Andy drums like an animal. Great bass work and then manic but gorgeous waves of melody and riffs. Something pentatonic with the beat at times. Then another gorgeous beat break around the three minute mark. The bass on this is sublime!
Track seven – Shake The Wheels Off (feat. The Orielles): More funk coming along, but perhaps toned down a little compared to others. Great electronics on it and fab hooks and riffs going on in it. Again very catchy. “A real bone-shaker”, as the song says.
Track eight – Everyone Nervous (feat. Rozi Plain): Beautiful electronics and Andy’s drumming on it is fab. Great guitar reverbs towards the end of the track as well. Rozi Plain’s voice is so wonderful emotive. I find this a wonderfully soft and emotional piece. It actually gives me those goosebump chills of electricity when I play it.
Track nine – False Positive: TURN UP THE FUNK! Wow! Was blown away by this when they performed it at St Luke’s in Glasgow back in February. Great synth melody over the top too. Something you can really just funk out to. Might actually be my fave track on the whole album. If not then…it’s really up there!
Track ten – Flight Of Ideas: These guys really are the modern masters of the looped groove for me. I just love absolutely everything they produce. And – hidden singing sensation on the track – the one and only Steve Jefferis!
A cohesive collection of songs. A maturing of sound, I feel. A little less emphasis on the more motorik sound they had. They have certainly increased the funk ratio and the influences of the electronica that the band originally sprouted from has returned somewhat, but also matured.
Standout tracks for me are: Fools Tomorrow, Replication, Everyone Nervous and False Positive.
A very solid 4.5 stars out of five.
Flight Of Ideas is released on April 3rd, 2020, on the Memphis Industries label and can be pre-ordered online at the Warm Digits store. Click the LINK HERE for details.
Simple Minds are the main feature in this month’s Classic Pop magazine, talking tours, new material, recording time, as well as talking about the release of the Street Fighting Years box set.
Non-subscribers to the magazine will be able to purchase the cover seen above, but subscribers get a different exclusive cover. I will post image of that later.
There is also a review of SFY further within the magazine.
So far the reviews for Street Fighting Years haven’t been overly kind. And this isn’t much different. Not as harsh as the Mojo hiding that’s for sure. I now find myself getting strangely defensive of the album.
A couple of reviews of the SFY box set have been printed in both Mojo and Uncut magazines this week. The Mojo one is particularly scathing but the “fortune cookie wisdom” in regards to Jim’s lyrics in the Uncut review isn’t exactly complimentary, either! Although overall, it is a kinder review.
The reissue lands in two weeks time.
It was a miserable old day in Glasgow yesterday. Everything and the kitchen sink, weatherwise, came our way. There was a bit of sun to be had but not much. Mostly it was strong winds, rain, sleet, and even at one stage a crack of thunder and lightning.
I was quite cosy at home, thank you very much! I wasn’t looking forward to venturing out. Conversely, I did not want to miss the opportunity of seeing one of my most favourite bands – Warm Digits – playing here in Glasgow.
It had been nearly two years since I last saw the boys perform. A wonderful day I had at The Cluny in Newcastle seeing them at the end of June in 2018. Far too long not to have seen them. And I knew they were planning on performing new material from their forthcoming album – Flight Of Ideas. I could NOT miss this gig!
I decided a taxi was the best way to go. Wait until nearer to gig time and just grab a cab to drop me right outside. The beauty of where we live in Glasgow, it is pretty cheap to get a private hire taxi into the city for around £6.50.
I had posted on Facebook how much I was looking forward to the gig in spite of the weather, and cheekily asked would there be any chance of me observing the soundcheck. A reply back to me said it was up to the venue but I was welcome to try. Soundcheck was happening at 6pm.
I booked a cab at 5.25pm. My driver arrived at 5.40pm. I was inside St Luke’s 15 minutes later.
I was unsure where to go. No sign of Andy or Steve in the Winged Ox so assumed they must already be setting up for soundcheck. I walked through a set of doors and down a short corridor. There were two sets of doors. I could see Steve and Andy on the stage. Could I just…push the door open and let myself in? Yes! A young lady was there setting up things in the bar at the rear end of the room, just by the door. “I’ve just come in to see Steve and Andy, is that okay?” “Yeah, sure”, she said, with a mild shrug. They both seemed genuinely happy to see me, which was a very lovely thing. You know…I can’t help but feel a little bit pushy and a bit of a pest…but it’s just the enthusiasm. And they are such lovely guys … and yeah. It was such a wonderful experience last time at The Cluny. I had never been to a soundcheck or had an opportunity to “hang out” with a band like that ever in my life before. I felt very privileged.
And that feeling was the same last night. Chatting to them while they were setting up. Asking them how the tour had been going so far, and just…catching up on general “life” stuff too. Experiencing again what goes on in the soundcheck. And being a bit privy to how they were going to be sounding as they actually performed “for real” is a great thing. I feel anyway. And the way they were sounding during soundcheck, I knew they were going to be fab when the real show started.
Soundcheck done and they were both heading next door back to the Winged Ox for a bite to eat. I was invited along. Before I left with Steve one of the security guys handed Steve his AAA pass. The security guy says to me “do you want one?” I look to Steve, then back to the security guy “Erm…if I’m allowed to have one, yeah!” He had run out of passes but went off and got me one. Never had one of them in my life. Not one GIVEN to me for my use at a gig.
Food consumed. A catch up with friends that came to see the show and it was show time! They performed six songs in the set. Four new tracks from the album – the lead single, The View From Nowhere…then, Feel The Panic, Replication and False Positive (I think that’s correct). Then two previous tracks, End Times – from the Wireless World album and Weapons Destruction from debut album Keep Warm. Weapons Destruction is usually the set ender – or the encore, depending on whether they are headlining the gig or not. And IT ROCKS!
They were sounding as fab as ever last night. And the new tracks are great. Both the instrumental tracks, Replication and (I believe it to be) False Positive, were the ones I enjoyed most last night. But the whole set was great. The only problem with the set was it wasn’t long enough! They were on for just 30 minutes. But I was so happy I went in that yucky weather because it was the best 30 mins!
I stayed on to watch some of Poliça who are quite atmospheric. Kind of…ambient electronica. I was enjoying them. The only criticism I would give is they could end up sounding a bit…”samey”. To me there wasn’t too much diversity in the tracks I was hearing them perform, but I only watched the first 25 mins of their set. But I enjoyed the look of them. Their singer had small coloured laser lights projected on her, swirling around her body and on the walls around St Luke’s. They sounded really good in live performance. I had been listening to them on and off for a couple of weeks so I’d be a little familiar with the tracks they’d perform. Personally, I think the feeling of their music would be more suited to a seated venue. That sentiment definitely DOES NOT apply to Warm Digits though. You need to up and dancing, foot-stomping, head-banging with those boys!
They just have the two gigs left supporting Poliça – tonight in London and tomorrow night in Brighton. But they will very soon be on the road again with a headline tour for the Flight Of Ideas album. And they are set to play in Edinburgh and Newcastle. No official dates just yet, but I will definitely be booking tickets to see them in these two cities. And I will give details on the blog once info comes to hand.
They will also be doing an album launch at Rough Trade East in London on April 4th. I am gutted I cannot go because I’ll be in Paris seeing Simple Minds! But if you can get to London to see them at Rough Trade, do so! Tickets are available here. But be quick! Tickets for these Rough Trade events go FAST!
I really am not the biggest fan of the live album. Never have been and probably even more so now I actually go to many gigs during the year. Get it wrong and it’s completely devoid of atmosphere and can just sound appalling and probably doesn’t “sell” what is otherwise a truly stellar live act. Get it right though (which in my view is VERY rare – much rarer than an act just getting the sound/atmosphere right on the night) – and wow!
I listened to this last night. If Mr Ferry still sounds and can deliver like this in a few weeks time at the Armadillo…I will be a very, VERY happy bunny!
