I'm not sure if this is the second or third time this album has been released, but it has been building momentum and gaining fans slowly but surely since first coming out. Although I'm sure some of the bands long term fans are more than ready for its follow up by now.
No doubt that ahead of the Belgian band being one of The Rolling Stones' support acts in Hyde Park this summer, TRIGERFINGER will be getting plenty more love from all sorts of people. The album is a lot slower and less energetic than the band are live but opening song All this Dancin' Around is a good foot stomping floor filler of an indie rock tune and a fine start.
Love Lost In Love has an almost desert rock feel to it with almost spoken word vocals from Ruben Block that go to the dark heart of the relationship crisis at the centre of the song's lyrics. I'm Coming For You is like Led Zeppelin at their most overblown fused with some of Lucifer's Friend angst.
Now while live Mario Goosens' drumming is centre stage and often the star of the show on record it is more discreet even while Ruben Block is baring his soul on All Night Long. While he is pleading for some release from his pain at like 5.50am, the music is the undertow to the drama of this old Ray Charles tune. Feed Me continues in the dark corners of despair. I was never sure if I wanted to feed them or just let them starve to death and be out of the misery surrounding them, although I'd probably end up feeding them to be honest.
Cherry marks a great change of pace as Monsieur Paul's bass rumbles through the gears and it turns into a pounding powerhouse of a tune that is also a live favourite and with very good reason as it is one of the most poppy tracks here. But it's only a small ray of light relief before the 8 minute-plus epic dark delights of My Baby's Got A Gun kick in. For much of its time, this sounds like Kyuss on downers before finally exploding into a bit that reminded me of Monster Magnet. It's a song best heard in a very dark room with a large amount of pot.
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Without A sound and Tuxedo both keep things dark and despairing and it does become a bit of a downer that is eventually blown away by the light touch they bring to their cover of Lykke Li's I Follow Rivers which has a delicious pop edge to it. It makes for a nice up-beat ending to the album.
But on this expanded edition we then get three bonus tunes that show the band turning in decent acoustic versions of Soon and then Love Lost In Love. The latter of which isn't a patch on the electric version earlier in the album, but it's still acceptable enough. They close with a re-mix of I Follow Rivers that is a bit dancier than the other version.
This is an album for those of you who like some very dark lyrics and downbeat music that has the odd outburst of great upbeat rock.
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