Copyright popmatters
The Charlatans are one of those bands with little following in the United States but a massive fanbase in the UK. The rare American who happens upon them is likely searching for artists associated with Oasis or Blur before digging into Inspiral Carpets, Manic Street Preachers, or Ocean Colour Scene. That’s how far we are removed from the Cheshire band, now boasting 14 albums, 22 top 40 singles, and three number one albums. Despite our collective ignorance, the Charlatans have returned after an eight-year hiatus with a certain amount of fanfare. The band, which features Tim Burgess (vocals), Martin Blunt (bass), Mark Collins (guitar), Tony Rogers (keyboards), and Pete Salisbury (drums), entered the studio with the crack production team of Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) and Fred Macpherson, including additional contributions from Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur). The Charlatans have always prided themselves on moving their music forward; this last break was due to the pandemic, and the members focused on other projects. On We Are Love, they were committed to entering this next phase of their career, incorporating innovative elements, while taking a last meaningful look back at the defining moment that made them who they are today. The record is as invigorated as we’ve heard them in quite some time, without a doubt their most cohesive effort this century. Despite the layoff, the Charlatans come out on fire. The tone on the first few tracks is brooding, celebratory, and yearning, sometimes within the span of a few notes. The first single, “We Are Love”, foregrounds intricate guitarwork and angular riffs, a combination that brings together the influences of Johnny Marr and Andy Gill. They can construct sonic landscapes, as on “Many a Day a Heartache”, or fall back into more familiar territory with “For the Girls”. They came of age when acid house, shoegaze, and Britpop all existed contemporaneously, and they show fidelity to each of those scenes. The album was recorded in two meaningful locations for the band. Not surprisingly, they made a portion of the album in their own Big Mushroom space in Middlewich, Cheshire; more significantly, they returned to Rockford in Wales, the famed farm studio where their original keyboardist, Rob Collins, was killed in a car crash while making their most well-known record, Tellin’ Stories (1997). While decades have passed, that event still colors much of what they do, and the impact is no less present today, as heard on the opener, “Kingdom of Ours”. It describes Collins’ spectral-like presence in the space, complemented by the lyrics: “This world couldn’t hold you / It just reached down, and it took you.” Like many long-standing bands, tragedy is not unfamiliar to them, as they also mourned the death of original drummer Jon Brookes. The bookend track, “Glad You Grabbed Me”, offers a more celebratory take on their history and how nothing less than fate brought them together and kept them afloat. Along with Burgess’ striking vocals, keyboards remain the defining aspect of their sound. Unlike some of the Charlatans’ more recent works, We Are Love digs into the grooves that made them such an innovative act in the 1990s. The powerhouse line on “Deeper and Deeper” and keyboard solo on “Many a Day a Heartache” hearken back to a simpler (maybe druggier) time when Madchester was all the rage. Even the lyrics echo from back then: “Deeper and deeper / I don’t feel like coming up from air, just now / Not while I got my head in the clouds.” The Charlatans prove they have another act that’s worthy of your attention (that means you, Yanks). Unlike bands that have reemerged after extended periods, like the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive, the Charlatans have evolved since we met them, with to-be-expected hits and misses. Maybe because the group have been active this whole time, the tendency is to take their presence for granted, like how we view Primal Scream these days. We Are Love celebrates their history but skips the victory lap, creating some of their most important music to date in the process.
