Genres are meaningless. Post-punk is more so than most, more a description of a time than a sound. But it is still a term that is widely used and on the increase. It’s a shame that you can’t get two people to agree on what it means. But, it is for that reason that it perhaps is applicable when trying to tie down the sound that Candy Coffins make. Not because it has a specific meaning but precisely because it doesn’t. No one term can capture what is at the heart of Candy Coffins, so why not pick one that is vague, changeable, and brilliantly and wilfully inconsistent?
Just take the two recent singles that beat a path to this album. “Every Day A Fresh Atrocity” is dark, brooding, and Cure -like. “Seaside Girls” is punchy, alt-poppy, and groovesome. Surprisingly cheery really! The best you can say about them is that they both have a whiff of early 80’s alternative about them, and leave it at that.
And so the album goes. “Tangled Up In Teacups” is a waltz through gothic drama and rock drive, “Cold Crypts” is both anthemic and intense, and “Peel Off The Stars” is fractured and fragile. And yet, they are all part of the same album, all the product of the same band, and not one of these mercurial tracks feels as if it belongs anywhere else.
The sooner people get over genres, scenes, and styles, the sooner we find more bands making albums like this. Not exactly eclectic, but indeed the sound of a band exploring whatever ideas and urges spring out of the songwriting and not worrying too much about who, what, when, or where they sound like.
Variety is the spice of life, and this is a tasty album.
Every Day A Fresh Atrocity
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Live From A Distance
