Bright & Guilty was The Wolfhounds second album that originally came out in 1989, this deluxe re-issue turns it into a double album, with the second disc made up of Singles, b-sides and one outtake and songs that featured on compilations. The Wolfhounds were formed in Romford back in 1984 when it was still possible to spend an afternoon record shopping in Romford as I did many a time back then.
Although for me they were a local band I somehow got it in my head they were Irish and kind of ignored them back then, with hindsight that was a mistake as this re-issue makes clear, David Lance Callahan had formed a really great and singular indie band. The album was recorded at Martin Rushent's Genetic Studios in Berkshire.
The A-side opens with Non-Specific Song that is in no way as Non-Specific as the title suggests being a good indie rocker with some great weird instrumental bits with good feedback and out their guitars and good shouty vocals.
Charterhouse is about being a cook at that most esteemed or is it derided of public schools, around the time this album came out I would have been refereeing Charterhouses football team at an annual tournament, none of the kids were allowed to wear track suits as they had to wear the school cloaks. As they tell us to just do our jobs and ignore everything else this starts off slow and quiet but has outbreaks of clattering noise.
Happy Shopper comes with a two for one sticker attached to the strings of the guitar as they sound a bit Smiths like, this is an angry jangle pop song that got them into some legal hoo ha with Happy Shopper who didn't want the free advertising of the Wolfhounds singing about them.
Useless Second Cousin is angry bile ridden and a little bit Fall like as they sing about the pound being devalued, as I write the Pound is once more in free fall making this song seem rather current.
Ex-Cable Street sounds like they are re-enacting the battle of Cable Street once more with alternating jangling and rapacious guitars that you'll need to hear over and over to make sure you really get the lyrics.
The B-Side opens with Son Of Nothing that has baggy guitars and an almost ravey dance feel to it, but with deeply nasty guitars and repeated asking of "what have they done".
Ropeswing could easily be a song about our current government let alone the one we had in 1989, this has chiming guitars and slow careful drumming.
Rent Act is a bile ridden look at housing policy that made it harder and harder to find affordable accommodation, a situation that has only got immeasurably worse in the intervening years, which means that many more people now suffer from the issues this song is about, a great slice of Agit-indie-pop.
Invisible People is for me all about what the guitars are doing, rampaging all over the place which makes sure those people stay invisible. A Mess Of Paradise is a short sharp ending to the original album.
The Bonus album opens with No Soap In A Dirty War an anthem for soap dodging while carrying the can for everything that's going on, among the weird time signatures and guitar interjections.
Red Tape Red Light starts slowly before exploding into a song about an abandoned house that they'd like to take over and move into, but why is it empty.
Natural Disasters is a slower song that looks at all the natural disasters and how bad things seem to be. Cottonmouth was something most of us suffered from at some point in the late 80's, this has a chiming revolving guitar part and vocals that sound like they were recorded in a closet this gets dryer as it goes on.
Torture is slow dark and has guest female vocals that sound a bit Tracey Thorn as this grizzly tale unfolds and she makes clear he won’t be getting his just desserts any time soon.
Died The Small Death has an urgency to the way they sing about all the cheating and betrayal as they try to find a better way forwards.
The D-side opens with Mess Of Paradise (Scarf Demo) I'm guessing it was a silk scarf, rather than a football one, by the way the guitars jangle and David's vocals seem tidier than the title might suggest, this gets angrier and noisier as it builds to its climax.
Next is a couple of songs by The Kinks I'm Not Like Everyone and this version sounds similar to the Johnny Thunders cover of this classic, only this is a lot tighter than Johnny's version. Set Me free is played as a jangle pop classic, with the guitars switching speakers in places, this is a classy version.
Second Son is a baggy wah wah almost dub tune that could almost be by EMF as unbelievable as that might sound.
Everybody sounds like it's somewhere between the Smiths and Wedding Present, is an urgent piece of jangly indie pop.
The album closes with a crucial anthem Recycle that sees them getting on the bandwagon well ahead of the current fashion for Recycling, this should be heard by as many people as possible to get the message across that we all should do our bit to Recycle as much as possible and a great way to end this double album.
Find out more at https://opticnerverecordings.com/products/wolfhounds-the-bright-guilty-2lp?variant=40730136445039 https://www.facebook.com/TheWolfhounds
