The Charlatans have experienced some turbulence in their career, like originally being dismissed as nothing but a Stone Roses cover band or when the press wrote them off before they came back with their greatest effort to date, Tellin’ Stories. With that mix of techno and melodic joy, the Charlatans were back on track. Now comes their latest release, Us And Us Only. They still sound like the Stone Roses, but after a while it just doesn’t seem to matter.
The first two tracks head on without much worry, but when “Impossible” creeps up from behind, you know it. The melody that rolls from Tim Burgess’ tongue is precious. “The Blonde Waltz” mixes in the Beatles with a little bit of country. The twang was the right ingredient to put this track over the top.
“Senses” finds Burgess singing in a voice that might make Liam Gallagher give them a double take. His raucous vocals are stirring and boisterous. “The Blind Stagger” is an acoustic piece that starts rocking and then opens it up, saving The Charlatans in the process. “Watching You” is charming, but rolls on as a not quite notable track.
The Charlatans haven’t taken the technological angle on this release, thankfully saving us from the expected. Us And Us Only is unpretentious, satisfying rock ‘n’ roll.
+ cc smith
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