The Hours Pass Sweetly This Night

I'm a little late on this, both in the fact that it's an album that released back in Febuary and in that i've had it on my hard drive for ages but only just got round to listening to it. I'm talking about The Hours album, Narcissus Road. On listening I can see why it took me so long to get round to it, but having said that, now I've got over my indie rock prejudice, i think it's an amazing album.



I just noticed it when I was looking for something to put on my MP3 player to get me through work and I'm now listening to it for the 4th time in maybe ten hours. I haven't been this into an album since I rediscovered Rainbow's Rising last weekend (but before that, and admittedly before the previous week's infatuation with Midlake's The Trials of Van Occupanther, another album I was stupidly late on, but before those albums i hadn't been that excited by an album for like months).

Why so good? Firstly I should mention that on the odd song it flirts with Coldplayesque rock. Flirts, but just about gets away with it. Indeed, maybe this goes someway to explaining the album's genius - it dares to risk the stigma of Coldplay, it is a record with balls. Not only in the coldplay thing. It risks pretentiousness with references to artists, films, historical figures, Icarus, the creative process, works of art. It risks naivety with exhortations to beauty, art, rock 'n' roll, risks feeling, risks feeling without irony, wears its heart on its sleeve, unafraid.


The comparison I came up with was with Adorable who, for those who don't know, were just about the greatest band of the 90's and who had arrogance and naivety in equal measure and created one of the greatest albums like evah with Against Perfection, a record that I almost put on a bit ago but I couldn't bare to not listen to The Hours. Anyway, Narcissus Road reminds me so much of Against Perfection that I pretty much don't need to go back to it.
There's also a connection with Spritualized, not in any musical sense, but in the use of cliches. I've always loved the way Spritualized write songs made up entirely of cliches but despite of/because of this still make records that feel. The Hours are similar, not so many cliches but when they're used they certainly have an effect. This is a topic I've often meant to write about. Maybe one day I'll get round to it...

The highlights: "Ali in The Jungle", a great starter and the only track I'd heard prior to the album (used to listen to it on BBC Radio 6 during the Ashes last winter - when the days play was over i'd put on Radio six and this song just always seemed to be on - and of course it's sentiments are the opposite of the England Cricket team that winter); "Love You More", a simple love song, a list of things he loves, a great tune, a song of feeling, some quality swearing; "I Miss You", the Coldplay track, maybe it's the lyrics, maybe it's the sentiments, maybe the singing, but it just about gets away with it; the last half of the album is all a highlight, particular mention to "Murder or Suicide" - more quality swearing, rock 'n' roll cliche in full effect, tennis reference(?), and to "People Say", with it's wonderfully old school finish, "Who's the richest man or woman listening to this record right now? Who gives a flying fuck", Brilliant, art over money and use of the words "flying fuck" - beat that.