{"id":35729,"date":"2018-05-20T19:50:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-20T18:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=35729"},"modified":"2019-03-21T05:43:51","modified_gmt":"2019-03-21T05:43:51","slug":"phantom-menaces-divine-sorcery-or-frightful-mess-the-damned-unleash-evil-spirits-their-first-album-in-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/05\/phantom-menaces-divine-sorcery-or-frightful-mess-the-damned-unleash-evil-spirits-their-first-album-in-10-years\/","title":{"rendered":"PHANTOM MENACES – Divine Sorcery Or Frightful Mess? The Damned Unleash ‘Evil Spirits’ Their First Album In 10 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Coming 10 years after its predecessor – and with\u00a0David Bowie<\/strong>‘s right hand man\u00a0Tony Visconti<\/strong> in the producer’s chair – there were naturally big expectations surrounding\u00a0Evil Spirits<\/strong><\/em>, the latest offering by\u00a0The Damned<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n

With founder members\u00a0Captain Sensible <\/strong>and\u00a0Dave Vanian\u00a0<\/strong>well into their 60s – many have predicted it might be their farewell album – a last run around the track for the band, whose\u00a0New Rose<\/strong><\/em>, heralded the punk rock revolution.<\/h4>\n

No pressure there then, but with the band assembling its best live<\/a><\/strong> unit since the glory days of Rat Scabies<\/strong> and\u00a0Brian James<\/strong>, the omens looked good that\u00a0Evil Spirits <\/em>would be no pale apparition.<\/em><\/p>\n

So does it deliver? Well it certainly has its moments.<\/p>\n

Lead single\u00a0Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow<\/strong><\/em>, thunders along merrily enough and straight up rocker\u00a0The Devil In Disguise<\/strong><\/em> is great fun too.<\/p>\n

Sticksman Pinch<\/strong> propels the song along with a galloping rhythm, while Vanian in full deranged Southern preacher mode croons\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a devil, a complicated rebel\/A dirty demon devil, a devil in disguise.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/b>welcome return of bassist\u00a0Paul Gray<\/strong>, who featured on two of the band’s best loved albums The Black Album<\/em><\/strong> and\u00a0Strawberries<\/strong><\/em>, inevitably provokes comparisons with those records.<\/p>\n

But while there are echoes, certainly of the latter album, in the psychedelia of\u00a0We’re So Nice\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>and in\u00a0Monty Oxymoron<\/strong>‘s squalling keyboard flourishes on\u00a0Look Left <\/strong><\/em>– ghosts of the band’s slightly more recent past are also in evidence.<\/p>\n

There’s a hint of\u00a0Grimly Fiendish<\/strong><\/em> about the gothic rock of\u00a0Shadow Evocation<\/strong><\/em> in which the band appear to acknowledge that time is running out.<\/p>\n

\u201cEdging to oblivion \u2013 obscuring all that lies ahead,” <\/em>Vanian growls with forboding, “With one burning passion to cheat the clock and get ahead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Ska-like in its bouncing bass line,\u00a0Sonar Deceit\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>tackles the plight of marine animals diven to insanity and death by “humans playing games with submarines<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

It’s a noble sentiment, but\u00a0the lyrics fail to match the might of the music or carry the weight of the message.<\/p>\n

Two of the more political songs, the aforementioned\u00a0Look Left <\/em>and anti-tabloid tirade\u00a0Daily Liar\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0also flounder in the lyrical shallows – too obvious in the case of the latter, the former not direct enough.<\/p>\n

Liar<\/em>‘s music is bloody good though, surging along like a mad sea shanty.<\/p>\n

The words are sharper on\u00a0Procrastination<\/strong><\/em> – a ditty which may explain why it’s taken The Captain and Co. a decade to get this record out.<\/p>\n

An ode to indecision, protraction and general shilly-shallying, it’s full of witty one-liners \u201cI consult a horoscope just to pick a perfect day<\/em>,\u201d and canny couplets:<\/p>\n

“I’d like to see the pyramids at this time of the year\/But never quite get round to it and end up staying here.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Boasting perhaps the most punk title of the whole album, closing track\u00a0I Don’t Care\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>– a combination of piano and Mariachi-style brass – brings a cynical and somewhat muted end to proceedings.<\/p>\n

For the most part, Visconti keeps it simple recording the band as-live with Gray’s fibrous bass high in the mix, complementing the Captain’s crunching power chords and shimmering arpeggios.<\/p>\n

If this is to be their last album – and personally I doubt it – The Damned can be justly proud of\u00a0Evil Spirits.<\/em><\/p>\n

It may not quite reach the dizzy heights of their very best work, but as a document of a fantastic late period lineup, it’ll do very nicely, thenk-you.<\/p>\n