How the Fallen Are Mighty

by The Hepburns

Overview

The Hepburns continue in their easygoing happy/sad indie-in-an-'80s way with How the Fallen Are Mighty -- any album that starts off with a breezy half-minute instrumental that sounds like it should be the opening credits music for a breezy BBC travelogue from 1973 has to have something going for it. If the band's portrayals of understated love affairs and entanglements often feel either more pleasant and wryly engaging than whip-smart or suddenly universal, it's all done with an attitude and focus that are never less than enjoyable. Matt Jones' singing matches the performances very well, at once understated and yet having a bit of gentle yearning. The occasional harmonies -- sometimes turning into a massed chorale approach, as on "Delores" -- sweeten the impact. Having a song called "Nobody Loves Me" that is a third-person portrait rather than a first-person one is actually an inspired touch, especially after Morrissey seemed to corner the latter market. The arrangements benefit from extra keyboards and other instruments adding a gentle grandeur to songs like "One More Notch on the Bedpost"; the sax break on "The Help" not only helps the understated ska rhythm but adds its own fun energy. "Persona Non Grata," meanwhile, sounds like a great lost Sparks song from 1975 -- for that reason alone, How the Fallen Are Mighty deserves a little attention. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	06/08/2010
Label:	Radio Khartoum
UPC:	0664449202526
Rank:	260687

Tracks

1. Vanishing Act
2. Sad, Free, Excited and Empty
3. Nobody Loves Me
4. One More Notch on the Bedpost
5. Writer Friend
6. Delores
7. The Help
8. Save Your Stories for the Police, Maurice
9. Vermouth
10. Persona Non Grata (In Margam Place)
11. Ken Park: The Man, the Film
12. Growing Old
13. Man Missing

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Hepburns   Primary Artist
Matt Jones   Guitar,Vocals
Stephen Lewis   Saxophone
Pat Grover   Drums,Vocals (Background)
Mike Thomas   Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
Cwmgors Colliery Band   Tuba,Trumpet
Sue Reece   Flute,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Tara Dordevic   Illustrations
Matt Jones   Arranger
The Hepburns   Arranger
Jun Kurihara   Translation
Norman De Plume   Composer
Mark Clark   Sleeve Notes
Jon Chaikin   Mastering