Search - Wild Swans :: Space Flower

The Wild Swans in Candyland.

Angry Mofo | 06/10/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Space Flower is a syrupy-sweet album. It is full of nonsense-love lyrics like, "she's my love-flavoured melting blue delicious," "she's a butterfly girl," "she's candy-coated, she's honey-toasted, it tastes like Tuesday everywhere," food references like "tangerine temple, cinnamon skies" and "chocolate bubblegum," and child-like lines such as the "I'm a.../you're a..." back-and-forth in "I'm A Lighthouse" and "we're all staying at the magic hotel" in "Magic Hotel." Imagine a Cure album where every single song was a version of "The Lovecats" or "Friday I'm In Love."



This is certainly nothing like Bringing Home The Ashes, the sober-faced debut of The Wild Swans. The thoughtful religious strain from that album is almost totally gone. Perhaps the only exception is "Immaculate," which even sounds like a leftover from the debut, and seems to obliquely refer to certain religious images. But that's all -- other songs seem much more, uh, worldly in nature, with "Butterfly Girl" mentioning the Kama Sutra and "Melting Blue Delicious" longingly rhyming, "she paints her toenails spectral blue / she's like a candle, half burnt through." The only connection remaining to the band's post-punk roots is Paul Simpson's voice, which is still disarmingly, winningly mannered. It sounds a little weaker on Space Flower than it did before, possibly because the production is no longer focused on making it sound foreboding. Simpson also frequently adopts a saccharine croon, for instance on the chorus of "Tastes Like Tuesday."



Well, this isn't all bad. Space Flower is a nice breezy sort of album, as good for summertime as Bringing Home The Ashes was for the winter. Certainly there are lots of catchy choruses, and if you think about it, the lyrics of "Melting Blue Delicious" are actually kind of clever and memorable. But I can't help myself -- I really liked the balanced, serious-yet-uplifting tone of Bringing Home The Ashes, so as much as I enjoy the songs on Space Flower, the line "chocolate bubblegum will set you free" makes me pine for the days when pain was April rain upon my skin.



One big plus is the music, which is actually better than on Bringing Home The Ashes. There's more of a sixties influence -- the fat-bottomed letters on the cover should be a clue, and the lyrics are very "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." Although there are still few standout rhythms or musical phrases, and many guitar parts still sound similar, the drums are looser than on the first album, with more energy and detail. For example, there's the speedy beat in "Tangerine Temple," with numerous fills, and also the peculiar shuffling rhythm in "I'm A Lighthouse." There is more stylistic variation, with a psychedelic riff leading "Melting Blue Delicious," backing vocal harmonies in "Butterfly Girl," and slower, chime-laden soundscapes in the title track and "Sea Of Tranquility." The guitar passages in the latter even start to sound a bit like songs from Laid by James ("Knuckle Too Far"), which is high praise in my book. I even like the minute-long acoustic interlude "Vanilla Melange," which is airy and slight, but quite adorable.



The bonus tracks are insubstantial. There is an alternate mix of "Melting Blue Delicious" by none other than pop music opportunist Bill Drummond. As far as I can tell, it is exactly identical to the album version, except for the addition of gratuitous female backing vocals. (A fitting metaphor for the KLF's entire career...) The other five bonus tracks are demo versions of songs on the album, all sounding pretty much the same as the final cut, a couple with very slightly modified lyrics. This is a bit disappointing compared to the reissue of Bringing Home The Ashes, where all the bonus tracks were originals, with no repeats or demos.



In the end, Space Flower is a good album, especially if you've a high tolerance for the sticky-sweet. However, Bringing Home The Ashes is in a whole separate class. It's an album to come back to, whose tone can really resonate when one wants to pause and reflect, whereas Space Flower is ultimately a fun, cute diversion."