Music - Part 275 - The Ainsley Band

The Ainsley Band – 5-4-3-2 She’s Not The One (Philophobia Music)

CD/DL

Out Now

Wakefield alternative Indie band release their new album.  

This could be one of the saddest albums you’ve ever heard.  One of the saddest until you ‘get’ it.  The basis to Michael Ainsley’s lyrics on 5-4-3-2 She’s Not The One are of heartache and split with the subject’s girlfriend to the point where he often contemplates suicide. 

Depressing eh? Well no, not really because it’s also written with an amount of honesty and humour which makes it very appealing.  There was a certain Mancunian songwriter and lead-singer who was often accused of being depressing but wrote some of the loveliest lyrics you’d ever heard, if you bothered to listen.

Much the same can be said about Ainsley.  Another bottle of whisky, another argument, another self-obsessed reminisce.  Some of the words on this album of some of the finest you may ever hear let alone this year.  In Michael Ainsley we have that rare thing – a songwriter that writes pure poetry.

I Think About You Always have a very poignant lyric but is lifted by the rare appearance of a full backing band and boisterous vocals which only make it sound like great fun and one of the many album highlights.

Dry Tongue is heart-breaking and crying out for a full orchestral accompaniment, or maybe that would be too predictable.  The piano only backing is perfect.  If you take time to listen to the words you’ll maybe see the similarity with the aforementioned lyricist, Morrissey.  These Failures could be put to a Marr guitar riff quite easily with Stephen pouring out every emotion and feeling.

Torn Photograph (Idiot) has shouting chorus vocals over an acoustic guitar “it’s fair enough, avoid me at all costs……I’m better off being dead, put a bullet in my head”.  It’s acoustic post-punk at its finest and on Letter Let Her Go the true beauty of Ainsley’s lyrics shine through and most blokes could relate to it in their hour of selfish self-pitying sorrow.

Special mention also to Stuck In Freefall which rises and rises to a quite brilliant crescendo and has some very fitting production.  Today’s earworm.

At less than thirty minutes 5-4-3-2 She’s Not The One is short, but just short enough.  It’s a wonderful example of quality over quantity and deserves your attention pronto.

8.5/10

Links

Philophobia Music
The Ainsley Band on Bandcamp
The Ainsley Band on Twitter


Published on Louder Than War 20/8/14 - here