Australia

Australia: 4/Great

The band at their most shamelessly commercial, their most joy-filled musically, and sounding like they love every minute of it. Quite where songs like this came from after The Holy Bible remains a mystery – perhaps the only way was up, in desperate need of some light, some poppy, peppy melodies that could crack apart the darkest thought. One of the band’s finest, most recognisable riffs, a stadium-tearing chorus, and brilliant verse melodies and simple lyrics for even the most distant fan to latch on to, the song’s content may sound joyous but of course there is a darker core, with Wire writing the song not as an ode to the spider-filled, murderous continent, but as a desire to escape his home and the memories it had become infected with – simply to get away, to be free from everything, and live a kind of non-life for a while. Meaning behind, it remains a wonderful song to bounce around too, filled with warm harmonies and immediately infectious.

Misheard Lyrics: I don’t know if I’m tired. I don’t know if I’m air.

2. I’ve been before much too long/I’ve been defiled much too long.

3. I want to fight and run.

4. Slip for a while.

Actual Lyrics: I don’t know if I’m tired. I don’t know if I’m ill.

2: I’ve been here for much too long.

3. I want to fly and run.

4. Sleep for a while.

The Girl Who Wanted To Be God

Generic Ratings: 1: Crap. 2: Okay. 3: Good. 4: Great

Perhaps the most Britpop of all of Everything Must Go, in terms of music at least, this jangling, chiming guitar based soft rock anthem isn’t plain enough to be boring, nor grand enough to be great. The production does its best to make us feel that this is something more special than it actually is, with grand sweeping strings blasting the chorus to the heavens, but the Happy Mondays drumming and the not quite powerful enough chorus keep it from reaching the highest heights. My favourite moment is middle line of ‘hold me  she said, love me to death’ as it breaks up the central melody. It is a good song, with typically strong lyrics, but looking at the album as a whole it feels like one that could have been replaced with one of the era’s stronger B Sides.

The Girl Who Wanted To Be God: 3/Good

Interiors

Generic Ratings: 1: Crap. 2: Okay. 3: Good. 4: Great

I can’t imagine many calling this out as a favourite from the band or from the album, given that it could easily get lost among the more well known singles, but this has always been a personal favourite of mine, and a much stronger song than say Kevin Carter or the title track. I love the non-intro, I love the stabbing guitars, I love the shouted, stuttered melodies, I love the warmth of the guitars in the pre-chorus and through the chorus, I love the twisting little middle section, but most of all I love Bradfield’s vocal – the way he unleashes that final ‘ say what you have’ – incredible.

Misheard Lyrics:

1. Say worry ’bout tomorrow

2. A beautiful landscape of damnation

Actual Lyrics:

1. Say where is the tomorrow

2. A beautiful landscape of your nation

Interiors: 4/Great

Everything Must Go- An Introduction

After three albums of hype, brilliance, but little commercial success the band lost their talisman. One very large quarter of this band of equality was gone knocking the remaining trio out of balance and putting their future in serious doubt. Fortunately he had left some words and ideas behind and the band decided to continue. As irony would have it, they would release their biggest album. Packed with songs which even the most musically unaware could name and describe now it sold a lot and propelled the band to the top of the charts, making them a household name. So, a bittersweet outcome and a bittersweet release. Songs are tinged with sadness and loss, with inevitability and defeat, while others retain some of the fire of the band’s youth. Employing better production values and expanding their musical output with a glorious string section and some brass from Sean it still sounds great today, and unlike all the britpop pap which surrounded it it neither sounds dated nor of its time.

Songs coming soon…