While the Cool Britannia scene's heavyweights
Blur,
Oasis, and
Pulp have split, and fellow mid-table outfits such as
Shed Seven,
Cast, and
Dodgy have only recently re-formed after a decade away, London quartet
the Bluetones, alongside
Ocean Colour Scene, remain the only act from the original wave of mid-'90s Brit-pop to have stuck together and continually recorded in the subsequent and admittedly rather less successful decade. Four years after their last self-titled LP, and two years after frontman
Mark Morriss' solo debut,
the Bluetones return with their sixth studio album,
A New Athens, which shows that although their chart-topping days of 1996's
Expecting to Fly might be long behind them, their ability to craft simple but beguiling melodies hasn't. Opening track
"The Notes Between the Notes Between the Notes," which starts with a snatch of intriguing
Air-esque minimal electro and a repeated refrain of "be different like everyone else" before merging into the kind of psychedelic art rock favored by
the Flaming Lips, suggests that the band has truly abandoned its trademark jangly guitar pop sound. But this brave and rather out-of-character experimental effort is merely a red herring, as among the remaining ten tracks, most serve up a similar style of breezy and gentle acoustic indie that made the likes of
"Slight Return" and
"Marblehead Johnson" such radio staples. Channeling the lilting dream pop of the much underrated
the Sundays, the gorgeous
"Firefly" is perhaps their most immediate and radio-friendly offering since their '90s heyday; the banjo-led
"Golden Soul," which reveals some previously hidden folkier leanings, echoes the timeless harmonies of
Simon & Garfunkel; and
"The Day That Never Was" is a convincing stab at brooding gothic blues, thanks to its inspired use of Hammond organs and
Ennio Morricone-inspired twanging guitars. But
A New Athens is less successful when it beefs up the guitars on songs like
"Half the Size of Nothing," which features a rather bombastic prog rock solo from
Adam Devlin, and the derivative title track, which unfortunately recalls the muddy indie-landfill of forgotten previous contemporaries
Northern Uproar, both of which drown out
Morriss' softly spoken tender vocals, while closing track
"Pranchestontelle," a scathing attack on the exploits of former
Ordinary Boys frontman
Preston and ex-wife
Chantelle, is a chaotically misguided attempt at
Decemberists-style chamber rock. While it's admirable that
the Bluetones aren't afraid to stray outside their comfort zone 16 years into their career,
A New Athens becomes a joy to listen to only when they embrace their more natural laid-back and melodic leanings. ~ Jon O'Brien