Weekly > Reviews
Havenots, The - Never Say Goodnight
Last year I spent a large portion of my summer whiling away the hours listening to the wonderful American Whip album by male/female duo Joy Zipper. Having had this on pre-release for a good month or two now, I can see this album being an essential part of this summers listening as well. The HaveNots are a similar set up, with Sophia Marshall and Liam Dullaghan both sharing the musical and creative duties in the band, the biggest notable difference between the two groups would be a slightly more subdued feel to Never Say Goodnight, in comparison to the sunshine perkiness of American Whip, this though is no bad thing.
The HaveNots may not pepper their lyrics with too much humour in and amongst the lovelorn tales of romantic angst, but it doesn’t stop them making up for it on the credits on the album sleeve. With a sly nod to the various line ups that have fitted around the duo since they released debut album Bad Pennies, the pre cursor to the list of musicians credited is “This time The Havenots were�. It Doesn’t stop there though with Chris Mills contribution listed as Mellatron, Mandolin, Tambourine & one aborted duet! Clearly his musicianship is better than his vocals.
So onto the eleven lovelorn tales of woe that form Never Say Goodnight.
Opener Underwater/Overland is as good an indicator as any of the subtle beauty that musically underpins most of the tracks. It has a certain Belle And Sebastian feel about the loose arrangement over which Dullaghan exorcises whatever emotional scarring is behind the lyrics “Don’t be surprised if it crushes me like I know it can, I won’t always hold your hand, sorry to waste your time, underwater and overland, I will always slow you down.�
The brilliant recent single Flyers follows in the same vein, he obviously feels something of an outsider in life as he likens himself and others to discarded flyers handed out after gigs; “It’s true they just throw them away at the end of the day and nobody cares about us and on the streets where we meet I’d kiss you on the cheek if I was brave enough.� The lyrics may suggest misfits and misery but musically it’s anything but, harmonies a plenty in what is one of the most upbeat sounding tracks on the album.
New Lace Dress sees Marshall take the lead for the first time, her Nashville style country vocal on this track is an absolute treat, the plaintive style suiting the music superbly. Midway through the album you come to Sweetest Feeling which for me is one of the highlights, as the soaring vocal takes it to a level far above most other tracks on the album. Up Like Stairways is by far the strangest track on the album, it has an almost waltzing magic to it as they dream of escaping the hum drum, before ending in a blaze of twisted electronica.
The falsetto vocal on Let’s Just Start Again closes the album, it has a distant feel to the vocals which be it intentional or not gives the track a quirky edge that draws you into it, at almost four minutes it’s virtually epic by their standards.
- Havenots, The
- Never Say Goodnight (2005)
- Category: Album
- Label: Cooking Vinyl
- Reviewed by: Kev
- Published on: 15 Jun 2005
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
Weblinks
Add to favouritesNot ones to overplay, preferring to give the songs the space to breath within their own sounds, it’s an album that on the whole flourishes throughout, growing with every listen and proving that second albums aren’t always tricky for everybody.
Sit on that porch or on that chair in your garden as it’s getting dusky over the coming summer months and let the album envelop you as night falls, think of loves lost and loves still to be gained with this as your shoulder to cry on and perk you up at the same time. You’ve just found your new best mate for this summer.
New Lace Dress sees Marshall take the lead for the first time, her Nashville style country vocal on this track is an absolute treat, the plaintive style suiting the music superbly. Midway through the album you come to Sweetest Feeling which for me is one of the highlights, as the soaring vocal takes it to a level far above most other tracks on the album. Up Like Stairways is by far the strangest track on the album, it has an almost waltzing magic to it as they dream of escaping the hum drum, before ending in a blaze of twisted electronica.
The falsetto vocal on Let’s Just Start Again closes the album, it has a distant feel to the vocals which be it intentional or not gives the track a quirky edge that draws you into it, at almost four minutes it’s virtually epic by their standards. Not ones to overplay, preferring to give the songs the space to breath within their own sounds, it’s an album that on the whole flourishes throughout, growing with every listen and proving that second albums aren’t always tricky for everybody.
Sit on that porch or on that chair in your garden as it’s getting dusky over the coming summer months and let the album envelop you as night falls, think of loves lost and loves still to be gained with this as your shoulder to cry on and perk you up at the same time. You’ve just found your new best mate for this summer.
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