a big, hearty stew of an album
They may well express the idea that they want to shower you with expensive gifts, but really, what Western Civ want to do is create a whirlwind of noise around your head. You see, this isn’t so much the arrival of someone pulling up to your door with a truckload of precious metals, but rather the sound of a cyclone approaching your wooden shack. One listen and you could be floating off to the land where the horses are of a different colour. And, as Dorothy found out, it’s a lot more colourful on the other side.
Shower the People… is a cracking record. The fact that Western Civ are a three piece (although they get by with a little help from a couple of friends) helps as it keeps things refined some what. Sure, they wander around all over the place within their songs, with some nice extended jam sequences, but even then everything seems well controlled and focused – even when they add what sounds like somebody tapping wine glasses into the mix. What you end up with is something that fans of Yo La Tengo will find reassuring, if not as exhilarating, and there’s a hefty selection of poptastic guitar parts that reminded me a lot of early REM, and that’s not a bad thing either.
Shower the People… may not set your world on fire, but it’ll create a nice, steady glow that’ll keep you coming back for more. In other words, it’s a big, hearty stew of an album. Pass the bread will you? I’m going back in for seconds.
Words: Damian Leslie