Variety and pathos abound on The Lightning Seeds’ new album.
The Lightning Seeds’ hit Three Lions has become a ubiquitous presence in recent years, so you may be surprised to know that See You In The Stars is their first new album in 13 years.
There are some starry cameos in the songwriting credits, one being The Specials legend Terry Hall who also co-wrote Lucky You. They bring another hit on this album with Emily Smiles; breezy and upbeat about miscommunication and positivism and how lives can be changed by a moment like a smile.
The opening track, Losing You, is a plaintive song about falling in and out of love, which has a good hook and great guitar plucking and drumming beats, with more breezy backing vocals from Martyn Campbell and Adele Emmas.
Green Eyes is a driving song about a love you can’t let go of, while Sunshine bursts into life with a big start, bringing another psychedelic, bright soundscape backed with strings, keys, big production, drums and brass.
Fit For Purpose, a ballad with a pretty melody and sumptuous strings is about staying strong in adversity and not letting the darkness take over, with Broudie poignantly thinking of words from his mum amidst his brother taking his own life.
Live To Love You is faster, a driving song with romance and yearning lyrics, while Permanent Danger features Spanish style guitar and drum machine sounds. The album is brought to life and given its heart through Broudie’s signature voice – heartfelt, emotional, soft and sensitive – but here it reaches an extra sweet spot, more pleading and robust, his lyrics powerful and yearning: ‘My heart’s in trouble…tell me something good’.
Walk Another Mile is a proper party for a song involving disagreement, with lots going on, ‘Ba booms’ and repeated words bringing some Northern Soul for good measure. It sees a couple beseeching their partner to listen to their perspective, with one partner wanting the other to, ‘Try and walk a mile in my shoes baby’.
However, the album ends on a very emotional, reflective note. The title-track is a heartbreaking but rallying ballad about a friend of Broudie’s who died, a friend who helped him back into the world when he was in his darkest time.
The beautiful lyrics grieve for a dear friend and reflect on the hardships of life. However, they also encourage people to be strong, to carry on and believe in love when they are going through hard times, and leave an uplifting message:
‘You need a friend to say, get on board, this world’s a big balloon/Good times may define us, bad days will always find us, stay strong, move on, believe in love when things go wrong’. There is also a beautiful sentiment to his friend: ‘Angels smile and laugh along with you, cos I hope they do’.
See You In The Stars has great production and instrumentation, with beautiful vocals and varied, heartfelt lyrics which point towards lifting people up and giving hope.
Ian Broudie has returned with an uplifting, entertaining album which stays true to Lightning Seeds’ classic sound, but also adds to it with modern, soulful sixties’ and eighties’ elements.
