Lamentations

Description

Lamentations is the fourth album by the British alternative pop band Lies Damned Lies, independently released on Sticky Music in 1996.

Ethereal Caledonian popsters Lies Damned Lies have chosen a somewhat unique topic as a basis for this latest release. Lamentations is hardly the most, erm, cheerful book in the Bible, but the veteran Greenbelters are exploring a new genre here – Christian music that isn’t all happy clappy. ‘Lamentations’ is a maudlin mixture of haunting and unusual imagery; snippets of Lamentations are used throughout the album like a recurring leitmotif. To be honest, I’m not sure what they’re communicating. The end of an era? The plight of the world? The end product is very creative and eccentric, doesn’t have a neat conclusion like most mainstream Christian albums (God is love, grace and mercy, etc). «Mumble And Moan» has a Sting sound-alike on vocals! This song is the marathon piece on the album. It dies away but is taken up again by a beautiful string arrangement which punctuates the second section. Throughout there’s a juxtapositioning of the old Biblical imagery and the modern life, a constant lament that in essence, humanity hasn’t changed a bit since ancient times. «Home» begins with a simple voice and guitar duet and the emotional appeal of a protest song which builds to anthemic proportions! This is probably one of the more colourful releases of 1996 which challenges the stereotypical idea of what ‘Christian’ music is. The overall verdict is that moody, atmospheric, different music like this could be big business in the next century, so get ahead now! [Pippa Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, February 1997]

“The American writer Walter Brueggemann has said that when the voice of hurt is silenced the human psyche becomes numb. The book of Lamentations is the sound of a lyrical voice looking over a broken landscape, the final admission that the Promised Land is in ruins; a voice of unbearable grief over the loss of home.

“The lament is the song without which our claims to happiness turn to lies – the song we sing until we know how to build again.” – Doug Gay (a friend of the band), in the album sleeve.

The book of Lamentations is a difficult book to understand. Reading it reveals a writer with views of God very different from those usually proclaimed in Sunday Schools and by some Christians. People have attempted many ways to get to grips with how this book should affect us, and with that it teaches us, and this is one side of what Lies Damned Lies attempts to do with this work. The band is comprised of Dot Reid, Charlie Irvine, and Steve Butler (who are involved with the Greenbelt festival and the Late Late Service, as well as running Sticky Music), all three musicians who are certainly experienced and respected enough to tackle such subject matter.

Musically, this is an immensely powerful work which has won wide critical acclaim. It opens with a four minute instrumental build-up, mixing experimental and spacious guitar sounds with organs and various electronic noises; these moody sounds allow the subject matter to show through very quickly. When the vocals come they are male, suggesting Sting and various blues singers as influences. Overall, the sound would probably be described as moody, spacious, bluesy rock music – the press release mentions The Blue Nile as an influence. I have found it difficult to find many bands who are that close to Lies Damned Lies musically.

Lyrically, the album is obviously influenced by the book of Lamentations, but the musicians’s personal feelings and more modern influences are included as well. This approach provides an interesting perspective on Lamentations, as we see the laments that this group of modern artists wishes to suggest. Three of the tracks, «Is It Nothing?», «Lamentations II», and «Lamentations I», all have very few lyrics, but those present show the influence of the bible writers most clearly:

Jerusalem, daughters of Jerusalem
What can I say to you?
How can I comfort you?’ (from «Lamentations I»)

The track «Free Of The Fear» goes in a slightly different direction, containing strong imagery:

On the day that I feared
An angel appeared
In the field where the beast never came

And the angel had words
That I’d never heard
Words that like arrows take aim

The lyrics overall are well-written, poetic pieces, wonderfully expressive and strongly linked with the contemplative music.

«In The Air» centres on the lead guitar, and is a good example of the multiple layers of instruments which appear throughout the album, with harmonies and more guitars appearing beneath the surface of the music and adding to the overall feel. The music is all relaxed, but coupled with these lyrics is something to sit back and meditate on more than an aid to relaxation. Further tracks vary things – delay is utilized more in some places than others, and «Happiest You’ve Been» picks up the tempo slightly (but only slightly).

My favourite track has to be «Is It Nothing», for the electronic effects applied to the guitars and the strong arrangement which allowed it to succeed despite being mainly instrumental.

This album was surprising and refreshing. I’ve heard very few albums which convey this much emotion, while being of interest to me as a student of the bible. It may be laidback, but it is enthralling and captivating none the less. [James Stewart, The Phantom Tollbooth, 1998]

> iTunes

CD tracklist:

01. The Sea
02. In The Air
03. Is It Nothing
04. Lamentation II
05. Mumble & Moan
06. Free Of The Fear
07. Happiest You’ve Been
08. Let Me Go Home
09. Lamentation I

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