The Beat Surrender

Itjust shows how easy it is to fall away from the public eye doesn’t it. The last I heard of Arrested Development was back in about 1993 when Everyday People and Mr Wendal were constants on the airwaves. Those two songs in particular were responsible for the album 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days In The Life Of… going on to sell 5 million records.

Since then though I figured the band had split up as i’d not heard anything from them, a quick look on Amazon though and it seems that isn’t so, they’ve had at least two albums out in the last 4 years alone and god knows how many before that.

Since The Last Time is their latest opus and in many ways it’s a continuation of where I thought they’d left off. Sunshine and It’s Time are both tracks rich in social commentary, the latter in particular picking up on racial issues. The messages though are all on a positive vibe and this is reinforced by ‘party’ tracks like Miracles which samples the Jackson Sisters and the wave your arms in the arm anthem Down & Dirty (Clap Your Hands).

So nice to have them back, even if they haven’t really been away! The album is out on the 27th November.