A French Kiss In The Chaos

Reverend And The Makers’ last work?

After the release of Reverend And The Makers’ debut album The State Of Things in 2007 its front man Jon McClure needs no presentation any more although he is well-known among the representatives of the British indie scene for quite some time already. The guys from Arctic Monkeys, for instance, have learned a lot from this musician with a non-standard approach to work who is besides a real expert in. It is the latter that McClure has decided to turn to on his new creation A French Kiss In The Chaos, of which many now talk as Reverend And The Makers’ last work. In fact McClure first declared he was going to quit music back in June of 2008 when drummer Richy Westley left the collective but soon ‘Reverend’ decided to stay. Such an unstable position caused a resonance among the critics and McClure’s colleagues who joked about it and in general it rather exploded the musician’s reputation. Nevertheless it is known that Jon has been never been especially interested in what the others think of him always being himself. So despite that the critics have given A French Kiss In The Chaos far from a warm welcome and though the creative work of Reverend And The Makers could end with it the record deserves all praise and is full of merits.

The feeling of concern on A French Kiss In The Chaos

No doubt the album A French Kiss In The Chaos proves to be a much more serious creation in comparison with the debut, in the respect of the songs’ meaning. Though it covers more than one topic they are all united with the feeling of concern for people living in the modern world and especially in Great Britain. The record opens with the first single Silence Is Talking, a melodious composition successfully uniting the Brit-pop and psychedelic elements with contagious trumpets and telling of the most of political events’ senselessness. An advertisement anti-anthem Hidden Persuaders – a more up-tempo number – reminds of The Last Shadow Puppets’ songs with the instrumental background and is remarkable for strait-from-the-shoulder lyrics while No Wood Just Trees surprises with almost a danceable beat and serious lyrics contrasting with it. Another interesting composition is Professor Pickles – a psychedelic atmosphere and MacClure’s tougher singing reechoing the songs of TV On The Radio prevail here whereas an acoustic ballad Long Long Time is contagious with its melancholy. The track No Soap In A Dirty War is another way to express protest against the existing social norms conquering with the musicians’ choir singing, and the song Manifesto / People Shapers proves to be one of the most unusual due to the sounds of known and unknown origin and the minimum of vocals. Another up-tempo track The End can be definitely thought the most pessimistic moment on the record, and its closer is a topical number Hard Time For Dreamers, another ballad filled with grief and hopelessness lighted only by the splendid accompaniment, and its long last sound, the signal of medical equipment informing of the heart failure, makes one reflect seriously.

The end of a chapter, but not of the whole story

All the creations of Reverend And The Makers’ creations are undoubtedly united with one thing – a wonderful harmony of MacClure’s changeable but always vivid vocals and a rich accompaniment. On the one hand, due to this harmony the songs on A French Kiss In The Chaos remind of the entire indie-material at once, and on the other hand it tells of a higher level of all the members if we compare the two albums. Each of the new album’s ten songs tell of this or that social life aspect making the listeners think of the things which they are probably used to or perhaps are utterly new to them. Thus even if we are not about to hear anything new from Reverend And The Makers any more this album is sure to linger in the memory of those who respect indie rock of a good quality. As for Jon McClure himself his search of the best application of his talents is sure to continue and music will certainly always interest him. Therefore A French Kiss In The Chaos may close one chapter but definitely not the whole story.