Sea Side the Besides is a collection of B-sides and outtakes from the much-loved David Devant And His Spirit Wife who are Mikey Georgeson, James Foz Foster, Jem Egerton and Graham Carlow.
The album opens with the squelchy bass and keyboard intro to Everything Fits Into Place an anthem for someone who really enjoys being compulsively tidy and organised, while making clear that this isn't always a bad thing, you can still allow someone else to sit on your face, so things can't be all bad, swirling keyboards and guitars lift off in the direction of the planet Pearl & Dean and everything that ident conjures up in listeners of a certain vintage.
One Hand is late 70's pub rock, with hints of a glam edge to this argument, that he'd rather not be having, but on the other hand he can't help himself. Life On A Crescent has slow plucked acoustic guitars and a long two note keyboard drone, evolving around this tale of mundane suburban lifestyles, with everything the Suburbs promised, luring you to love him eternally.
Slip It To Me should be played back to back with Jettblack's Slip it On, both have a louche garrulous sleazy edge, in this case with a psychedelic twist or two, so go on and Slip It To Me and make me happy now.
The Trouble with distorting feedbacking carefully controlled intros is, predicting where it will go, singing about geraniums was not in my top 100 guesses for things they would be having trouble with, along with a few more unlikely suspects, this has a western inflected spirit of diamonds the moon and the reflections they cause.
David's Coming oh yes he is, over a Memory Of A Free Festival style chanted song for that moment. Dolphin Square takes us deep into those dark notorious blocks of flats, the dark sexual intrigue and Chantage it's forever associated with, no dodgy cards with phone numbers and promises of Blue films, even if your life turns into a blue film in Dolphin Square, another face in the parade of victims still hiding behind the sofa's.
The Imposters are taking over the world, what is real anymore, who can replace Stanley Tucci and Lily Taylor this time, will it be Mikey and Foz while this repeats day after day ad infinitum to that magical keyboard riff.
Lifeline is something they thought they needed in 2002, I wonder how much worse the panic they have at modern life is now over 20 years later, the despair at how far from that Lifeline we all seem to be, how do we raise our voices and be heard. This Is For Real has a glam pop edge to this drama for anyone else whose making things up as they go along, while never forgetting to have a groove you can dance too.
One Thing After Another has a sense of longing for times when you had control of everything, the subtle indie pop has some cool strings and that sense that life is careening out of control, but that somehow we will find a way to bring things back to sanity once more.
Magic Life is in celebration of living the life they want to, as alternative rock and roll troubadours playing all over the place, confusing and delighting people enough he's happy to take his wig off.
Ghost In My House is covered closer to The Damned's version than the R Dean Taylor original, but with a twist or two that makes it in places sound a bit Spiders From Mars, this is the sort of cover that will get listeners asking whose version it is.
Black And White is far sparser slowly evolving over a minimalist drum pattern and glacial synths, to make clear that arguments and disagreements are rarely Black & White especially if you have overindulged enough to not recall how you got home.
Who We Are is rather slight and slow building full of wistful reflections. Any Fool Can Fall In Love is obviously a true statement but is never helpful when deployed at you, this is a look at how that retort affected David with soaring glam guitars and a spirit of hope that for once that love will be returned.
Born Yesterday has a slow ambient funky soul pleading that love really is watching your loved one eating toad in the hole, they really have some special peccadillos that may make you think they were Born yesterday, this song will refute that notion.
Incurable Only feels in places like a lost Squeeze classic, the wordplay and dodgy sex, over a super catchy indie pop song, with a cool break down that builds back up more in an Only Ones fashion, so I was expecting to the guitar histrionics to kick off before they actually did.
The Last Ever Love Song has organ and strings to accentuate the tale of love lust and despair when things didn't quite work out, this is lushly romantic idealism, with a twist or three. Mr Talent is asking those questions of a talent spotter for what they are looking for, and what signs do they see, that fame and fortune might be in the future, while almost having a music hall edge, will he listen to the advice he's given or will his ego not allow the advice to sink in.
The album closes with the medieval pop of Cookie The Clown that sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to a bad 1970's b-film, complete with a narration that sets up all the action you are about to see, when he agrees to that walk in the woods and what makes him so afraid to be there, waiting for that surprise Cookie promises him. Before the brass signals the horrors to come when this song ends.
Find out more at https://daviddevantandhisspiritwife.bandcamp.com/album/seaside-the-besides???https://www.facebook.com/groups/2450061563
