Amid all the jagged electro rock hullaballoo that filled Beat Pyramid, the first full-length by These New Puritans, you could catch hints that there was a more intrepid and artistic group waiting to emerge (the languid synths on “Doppelganger”, the Human League leaning “En Papier”). Who would have guessed though that it would take the band less than two years to tap into this strain more fully? Yet from the opening gambit, a brass and woodwind-only opener that hardly hints at the dark steely mood of the songs to follow, it is obvious that we are dealing with a whole new bunch of Puritans.
If the two songs that grab the attention most quickly – “We Want War” and “Attack Music” – are any indication, It would appear that this transformation was, at least in part, inspired by world conflict. The two tracks are infused with Middle Eastern melodies and rhythm alongside the prominent sound of a sword being unsheathed. With these loaded tunes, front man Jack Barnett rakes former PM Tony Blair over the coals for his full-bore support of entering Operation Iraqi Freedom on faulty intelligence (”It was September/harmful logic…I don’t have the right to say/until I write it down on this piece of paper”).
For the forceful tone of Barnett’s words, the music, while gripping, only hints at the aggressive overtones that dominated their previous album. Here, the band pushes only so hard. The beats are tribal but restrained (and almost entirely cymbal free), and there is an almost complete lack of guitars or live bass playing. They instead mix the electronic (lots of synth and 808 chatter) with the organic (the aforementioned brass and woodwinds, as well as light piano). It leaves a surfeit of empty space between the notes and melodic phrases. It gives you a lot of room to breathe, but never lets you go for too long. The embrace is more guarded but still strong and hard to shake off.
