Another great album from British Sea Power. Slightly different from previous but not straying too far to alienate long term fans. The opener Who's In Control seems somewhat prescient in view of the various protests both locally (students) and more globally recently. There is the usual mix of more up tempo rocky songs, and more thoughtful soundscape types (mostly from Hamilton). Fans will love it and will gain some new devotees.
Having only seen BSP on TV and was very impressed. Been thinking about getting a CD to judge if their music was as good as their TV slots. Upon looking at their CD output, was hit by how many they have produced, so which one to start with. They can't all be brillant, so took the plunge with Valhalla after reading the various reviews. If your going to consider buying one of their CD you could do a lot worse, because BSP have some stomping songs on this disc. Temped to give it a 5th star but erred on the side of partiality. Now having the task off which other BSP disc to purchase.
Reviews far too harsh; this is excellent stuff! Maybe not the best in their cannon but still a top indie guitar album but one of Britain's most inventive and endearing collectives. Give it a go!
Do You Like Rock Music is probably my favourite album of the last few years, so this one was going to have to be something special to get anywhere near that standard. It doesn't. Some classic tracks yes (Heavy Water stands out), but plenty of forgetable fillers. The album sometimes seems to lurch between bombastic noise-athons like Who's in Control to more considered dreamy numbers, where BSP start to sound a little like Engineers or some such. While I think the one-star reviews are a bit harsh, I can understand the disappointment at a brilliant band who seem to have lost their way a little on this one. Don't worry, the next album will be better, I'm sure.