Falcon

True to my word, I got the new Courteeners album Falcon. I was so-so about their first effort, St. Jude, but I'm a bigger fan of this one. We've got a pretty strong take on Britpop in the better tracks, such as You Overdid It Doll (very Stone Roses), and this bad boy, Cross My Heart and Hope to Fly:



Unfortunately, a lot of the acoustic, more heartfelt songs are quite plodding. Cameo Brooch is a good example. It's got the potential, but Liam Fray's songwriting just isn't strong enough to carry them through. It certainly has its moments, but I found myself pretty disinterested with his awed point-of-view narratives after a while.
I mean, he's got a great voice for the anthemic kind of stuff they're doing, but it flags at times.

Reading over it, the review seems as if I hate the album. The good tracks are really good; catchy, anthemic, sincere, and rocking, while still smacking of Manchester city.
I've posted it before, but there's no arguing that this is a big, big tune:



My verdict is a few gems that can't pick up the more mediocre stuff that surrounds them. Promising for the future, and it's rare that I'll say this about a rock album, but they could afford to drop the acoustic and concentrate on what they do best: rocking cautionary narratives.