It would be hard to say that Racehorses’ latest offering, ‘Furniture’ is anything other than of an 80s vintage in its styling. It’s also unashamedly pop, with a leaning toward the uptempo and the upbeat. There’s an air of familiarity about so many of the songs here, and picking out the band’s reference points is relatively east.
That doesn’t mean that the jaunty ‘Mates’ actually sounds like ‘Come On Eileen’ (it’s got a piano rather than a fiddle for a start) but it’s not hard to identify the Dexys influence the band themselves draw attention to. There’s a strong hint of ‘Radio Gaga’ in the verses of ‘Nobody’s Son’, but thankfully, minus the stadium bombast and with a gentle wave of a chorus, it’s an entirely different beast. ‘Sisters’ is more Pulp-like – think ‘Babies’ – with a dash of Housemartins thrown in.
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Thankfully, there’s a lot more to ‘Furniture’ than allusion, and all of the songs do work in their own right, demonstrating the band’s knack for succinct, shiny pop. We’re talking more ABC than Scissor Sisters, of course, and Meilyr Jones’ voice is definitely well-suited to the material: flamboyant without being camp, he’s got an impressive range but never overdoes the soaring falsetto.
There’s a darker tension in the nagging guitar on ‘What Am I To Do’, and the Soft Cell-like lead single ‘My Year Abroad’ is utterly infectious and a clear standout in what is a consistent and strong album.
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