Release date: Monday 4th February 2013
Rating: 
“Some things change but the majority stand still…” So opined The Courteeners’ Liam Fray on the opening track of Falcon, the Manchester four-piece’s second album. 3 years on and Fray and co return with the reverb-drenched synth-laden ANNA to prove that The Courteeners have spent this time doing anything but shuffle their feet. But what’s the verdict?
Opener Are You In Love With a Notion? sets the tone for the album both sonically and thematically. Against an 80s style drum beat, uplifting synths and anthemic bombardment of woah-wohs, Fray’s atmospheric vocals tell the story of the album’s titular Anna who, embodying the theme depicted so aptly on the album’s artwork, seeks to leave her humdrum life behind and abscond to her idealist paradise. It’s this theme- along with other typical Courteeners-esque musings on unrequited love, adolescent intemperance and the excesses of youth- which underpins much of ANNA’s narrative.
Lead single Lose Control’s explosive dark take on disco echoes Falcon’s You Overdid It Doll’s warnings about substance-derived lost inhibitions and the price of wanton over-indulgence. Next up, to complete a majestic trio of opening songs, is soon-to-be-fan-favourite Van Der Graaf, arguably one of the best tracks that Fray and co have ever written (despite the fact that it is heavily indebted to Kings Of Leon in style and production), showcasing that with ANNA the band are undoubtedly aiming to move their live shows to venues more suitably sized to match Fray’s ego.
If ANNA was to continue as it started then The Courteeners might finally have forged the album that they have continually threatened to make since their inception in 2006 but, sadly, it struggles to match and maintain the brilliance of the opening 3 songs. Much of the rest of the album devolves into an approach that can only be labelled formulaic and indie-by-numbers: Sharks Are Circling, Save Rosemary In Time, and Welcome To The Rave have arousing elements but, even though buoyed by Joe Cross’s tight and slick production, ultimately fail to hit the mark. More interesting are the glam-stomp sounds of Money and the more traditional Courteeners-sounding guitar riffs of Here Come The Young Men, but these tracks also suffer from being unquestionably derivative at times.
Marquee, on the other hand, is a slow-paced tender tear-inducing gem that once again shows that Fray is often at his best when conveying sensitivity and vulnerability. The subject matter is similar to The Libertines’ Music When The Lights Go Out, though this time from the perspective of Fray as the scorned male lover. Lyrically, however,the track is indicative of much of the uneven nature that plagues ANNA, with Fray’s lyrics gravitating from the borderline preposterous (“I don’t feel too sound/ Is he better pound for pound?”) to the clunky but wonderfully poignant (“I don’t mean to be so rude but next time you think you might not love someone don’t you think it’s best to tell them earlier on”).
For all Fray’s self-styled comparisons to Morrissey and aspirations to be spoken of in the same breath as Alex Turner and Ray Davies, ANNA shows that his real strength is in knowing how to craft and deliver a crowd-pleasing anthem gilded with an infectious chorus. ANNA proves to be an at-times fascinating but oft-frustrating album that, though it will no doubt satisfy many of the legions of Courteeners fans and win them new ones in the process, falls short of expectations. There is much to enjoy here but ANNA must go down as a missed opportunity for the Manchester quartet, while proving that they might yet still have the talent to make the album that the world is waiting for…
Key Tracks:
1. ‘Are You In Love With A Notion?’
2. ‘Lose Control’
3. ‘Van Der Graaff’
9. ‘Marquee’
Track Listing:
1. ‘Are You In Love With A Notion?’
2. ‘Lose Control’
3. ‘Van Der Graaff’
4. ‘Push Yourself’
5. ‘When You Want Something You Can’t Have’
6. ‘Welcome To The Rave’
7. ‘Save Rosemary In Time’
8. ‘Sharks Are Circling’
9. ‘Marquee’
10. ‘Money’
11. ‘Here Come The Young Men’
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9 Comments
Great Review Beni. It’s a shame, Falcon had a similar promise to the first few tracks that fizzled out like a pound shop sparkler by the mid point. The greatest hits album is gonna be a corker thought tbf. Keep up the good work.
Haha great phrase. Yeah Falcon started well (The Opener) then collapsed. Though it did have its moments.
Another great review from one of WC’s best writers
Yeah agreed – good to see he knows his music in addition to ‘geeky’ stuff!
Well written great review. Does what a review should do and mentions themes lyrics individual songs and shows knowledge of the band. So many bad reviews round nowadays. I’d give the album 3/5 much for the reasons you have.
Would love to know which tracks you consider derivative and why. Also what’s the cover about?
@ Rich, Chris, Jon- thanks for commenting.
@ John- in terms of derivativity what struck me was:
i) The style/ production on ‘Van Der Graaf’ is reminiscent of Kings of Leon, especially ‘The End’ from Come Around Sundown;
ii) ‘Lose Control’ really put me in mind of White Lies;
iii) The middle-8 in ‘Will It Be This Way Forever’ is almost identical to the middle-8 in ‘Save Rosemary In Time’, just listen to it…
WIBTWF: “We don’t need money let’s get under the covers/ Just as long as we got each other…”
SRIT: “Time is ticking I don’t wanna alarm ya/ I’ll be your knight in shining armour…”
iv) ‘Money’, especially the chorus, could easily come from Black Keys- same bluesy dirty rock and roll riff and feel as much of the stuff on El Camino.
As for the cover it seems to portray the eponymous Anna who wants to can her run-of-the-mill life for something better. For me Anna serves as the protagonist on the opening track and the antagonist on ‘Marquee’… Perhaps I’m reading too much into it though, as I’ve heard Fray since say that ANNA is meant to represent the special thing in your life.
The fact she dreams of escaping on a white horse is a not too obscure substance reference- Saint Jude and Falcon were littered with them!
Great review man. Spot on!
Great review. More likes than the Nme review. Ha!
I’ve been a fan of Courteeners since St Jude. 3.5/5 is quite a generous rating in my opinion. The last few times I’ve seen Courteeners live, they’ve played ‘Welcome to the Rave’ and that’s the track I’ve most been looking forward to hearing on the album. The song sounds terrible. Fray’s vocals are almost unrecognisable and like the rest of the album it’s overproduced. I’m really disappointed with it. Playing ‘Welcome to the Rave’ after ‘Kings of the New Road’ or ‘Fallowfield Hillbilly’ is saddening. Good review; the album definitely fell short of very high expectations.