4. April: Drinks Month

The quality is high again, and it’s interesting that only Rob has written about an individual drink. The rest of us have focused largely on the negative consequences of drinking alcohol. Which reminds me - I could murder a pint.



Colin Parish – Pour Me Another One, Do

It’s all come together in fine style for Colin on his comeback. This is a poignant, atmospheric , classy tune - up there with I Am A Nurse as one of his finest creations so far.

Some lovely chord changes here. It’s a straight 4/4 but he drops instruments in and out cleverly to give it an interesting rhythmic feel.

The vocals are overpowered a little by the instruments in the verses – especially the first one – and I wonder if the sitar should be put on the subs’ bench now and again. But these are small gripes; the overall quality of the song is very high. I like the ironic/deluded tone of the narrative voice, highlighted in sections such as: ‘Every day was fine, every day was a laugh, falling on my face, falling on my arse.’

The ‘Pour Me Another One, Do’ line stands out imperiously; a fine melody, very well sung.

It’s an excellently constructed portrait of a drunk spiralling downwards – sad, with a tune that tugs on the heartstrings. I like the way it describes a week in this woman’s drinking life, involving thoughtful touches such as a soak in the bath, and a gym visit, culminating in the worrying prospect of a big blow-out at the weekend. Superb.



Stephen Clarke - Started Drinking Again

A masterwork hewn at the frontier by ‘Dark’ Clarke. Wondrous guitar intro: dirty, twanging, threatening, and full of the sort of echo and vibrato that achieves its aim; pulling us into a Wild West that we know will contain trouble.

The song exerts a grip that holds fast till the climax, where the guitar motif has been stripped decisively of accompanying instruments. (The interplay of the two guitars is very good throughout).

The repetitive aspect of the lyric works neatly in this sort of blues song because it helps emphasise the melancholia that can come with heavy drinking and a love lost.

Everything is spot on here - the drum work and its excellently judged prominence in the mix, the singing and harmonies, the excellent guitar solo on 1.03 that builds to the glorious bend at the finish, and – perhaps notably of all – the memorable, jagged guitar riff.

It’s reminiscent of your early classic Ain’t No Room, and even more compelling.

You’ve never sounded better.



Rob Warner – Coffee (Anytime At All)

Great to hear a hymn to coffee – I’m on decaff and I miss the hard stuff.

Rob’s work generally sounds more laid back and has more breathing space than most of our songs, and the same is the case here. The drums and bass are very tight and this gives him the foundation to layer the vocals and other instruments on a rock solid base.

‘You would be a latte: creamy, smooth and hot,’ is a great way of telling somebody you like them.

There’s a lovable breezy, pop/ funk feel , with all of Rob’s usual ingredients: excellent, enthusiastic signing and harmonising. The first part of verse one of just vocal and bass works really well, and is complemented neatly by the organ afterwards. The harmonies towards the second verse are really good. Another highlight is the harmonising guitar work from 2.40.

A joyful song that sticks out this month because of its bright instrumentation and uplifting sentiment.



Tim and Julie - Defiantly Blank Page

Having caged the beast who cornered the metal market in glorious style last month, Tim is showing his pop skills for this excellently crafted piece of work.

The lilting, descending chords of the refrain sound exuberant, and it’s to his credit that he sings different lyrics on this section each time it comes round. This section is particularly effective in a melodic sense on the first repeat, with the names of the authors.

There’s a terrific rhyme about trying to drown sorrows in gin but realising they have ‘learned to swim’, and I really like the bit that comes just before each verse, with the broken up drumming and the harmonising guitars. The tuneful guitar playing shines through and, as last month, it’s all very well constructed, sung and played, with a good mix.

Defiantly, or definitely, another one to add to T&J’s good run.



Phil Sanderson - Lager

Phil paints a frightening and very vivid picture of a British night out in the company of young drinkers. At least it’s the ‘annual’ office trip and things may not be quite as apocalyptic on an average night.

His skill in lyric writing shines through to sum up the horror: ‘drinking lager makes you try harder, gives you strength to get what you’re after’, and in the bit about drinkers being ‘missed in trains and pissed in cars’. (At least I think those were the words.)

The chorus about 10, 20, 100 pints of lager (and a curry after)made me laugh, but I was reaching for Andrew’s Liver Salts when the count escalated to 30, 40, and then a million. After all that lot I think I’d have to skip the onion bhajis if I was going to tuck away a vindaloo.

The opening bass riff is great (reminiscent of Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar), but in places it’s out of time with the drums, most noticeably from 0:7 to 0:25.

I like the way Phil’s held back on the instrumentation, which brings the singing and drumming to the forefront. His trademark guitar work is as effective as ever in creating a threatening mood and carrying the tune, especially when the singing stops. I especially like the guitar part on the chorus and the way it follows the vocal line.

It wouldn’t quite be Phil if it wasn’t full of anguish, but the production is exemplary. There’s a tight arrangement, and it succeeds in describing the nature of a dispiriting spectacle.

Colin P  Pour me another one do
Clever lyrics, with the irony really matching the mood of the music, especially in the chorus - "every day was fun" sounds positively Blur-like. I like the way a neat chord change lifts it to the "pour me another one do" line. Good hook. As you will probably have noticed, I'm into live instruments (and incapable of anything else). I just wonder whether some real electric guitar wouldn't add more weight and depth to the sound, and give it a real Blur-like bite. All you need is a bit of Graham Coxon.

Rob W  Coffee any time at all
I enjoyed this incursion into soul. Very neat opening riff, and as usual some great chord changes, especially that last one of the chorus. Great hook, and excellent vocals, very rhythmic. I like the way you build up the arrangement to maintain the energy of the song, and that tightly controlled guitar solo acts as a kind of second chorus. All-round excellently crafted song.

Tim and Julie W    Definitely blank page
Very nice stereo guitar effect, and not too loud, I don't think, because the guitars sit well either side of the vocals, especially because of the contrast between the controlled spoken voice and the distorting instruments. Plenty of riffs and licks to listen to, and I enjoyed the free and easy bass playing. The chords remind me of the Pretenders' "Stop your Sobbing", which is no bad thing. 

Christian D   My drink-free world
You've got at least three hooks in there, and the instrumentation is brilliant, with non-stop attention to detail. The mixing is very subtle too, the way the banjo comes in to add some light plinking, then the distorted guitar takes us into a completely different feel, and the delicate piano arpeggios after the solo change it yet again. Excellent vocals, especially the layered oohs - Freddie Mercury would approve. Very clever lyrics too, right from the start, and the only thing I'd point out is that being "flat on my back throwing up" is a surefire way of choking on vomit that is very much your own. Your best song yet, I think, which is saying something.

Phil S  Lager
Excellent hook, and that "drinking lager" line is sort of Jam-like, as is the early threat of the office soaks heading "into town". Great vocals, all those different voices, and I enjoyed the humorous touches, especially the "curry after". The guitar solo at the end is very impressive, and even the slightly drunken bass playing works really well given the theme. The best thing is, though, that it's a new theme, new rhythm, lighter lyrics than usual, but very much your sound, your style. You just do your thing, which is what we should all be doing. 

Sorry, but not enough time for a proper review of each song.
I have enjoyed listening to the songs this month (mostly in the car), and 2 are stuck in my head, so they're the 2 I've voted for.

Well done Christian. A brilliant song.

I'm glad the Louis Theroux programmes wasn't on before we had to come up with drink-based songs.

Phil, you can liken me to Johnny Marr as often as you want. I'm just glad when I don't sound like me.

I'm proud to say I voted for the winner! A clear victory (though, not as clear as I'd have thought.) Well done (again) Christian. You're really getting the hang of this songwriting lark (sarcasm doesn't ever work for me in the written word. Me saying that to Christian is a bit like Lamahl complimenting Paul McCartney after he'd written 'Maybe I'm Amazed'!!)