I’ve had my eye on Outfit for some time now, an exciting five piece from the Wirral who released a brilliant EP, Another Night’s Dreams Reach Earth Again in 2012, followed by a promising debut album, Performance, in 2013. I’ve also seen them perform on the same bill as peers Dutch Uncles in Brighton (they rather out-performed them, in fact), so I’ve been keenly anticipating Performance’s follow-up, Slowness.

 

Written around themes of separation and distance, there’s a real cohesion to the writing and the make-up of the album. Fans of the more playful elements to Outfit’s sound may feel a little short-changed, but will hopefully warm to the ambition of the material. There’s also every chance that this will deservedly launch the band to a much wider audience, and that can only be a good thing.

 

There’s no doubting that Outfit have matured – this album isn’t groove or hook-driven, and as a result, considerably less immediate than the EP or the better moments on Performance. This does mean, however, that the writing is more exposed and the lyrics and vocals have more responsibility to carry the compositions. It’s a bold approach, and results are mixed.

 

The opening three tracks work very well, combining rounded compositions with hints of the wonderful Outfit groove and sleek instrumentation. New Air builds nicely around an austere piano and a plaintive vocal which unfold into an encouraging band effort, but there are problems – the drilling keyboard stabs quickly grate and the chorus itself is a bit underwhelming. The negatives are easily outweighed by the positives, though and the reintroduction of the piano at the end bookends the composition classily.

The title track, Slowness, has a very recognisable Prefab Sprout flavour to it. That said, the lyric is moving portrayal of the strain of a long distance relationship and is accompanied by elements of drama in the music that embellish the message.

 

“Difficult to see at first glance / The depth of a distance

The width of a romance / Hopeless as a desperate maybe

The things that you wish for / The love that will save me.”

 

Slowness neatly segues into third track, Smart Thing, which provides the album with one of the more upbeat moments. There’s a welcomed energy from trademark Outfit funky bass and a thoughtfully interwoven, brittle guitar that anchors the mood in keeping with what preceded it. There’s a nice arch to the song generated by a band in tune with one another.

 

There are flashbacks of the younger Outfit, too – Framed manages to combine slinky rhythm and smart production on the drums (a combination of two beats at the end is a magical moment) with sombre undertones to match a painful realisation in the lyrics,

 

“No hows or whys / Only silence between our eyes

She knows that she's changed and she's distant / Caught in the act of being different.”

 

The final three songs don’t work brilliantly for me, though. On The Water On The Way is synth-driven with a krautrock heart – it should be vital (and a fair few BPM faster), but it feels a little flat. Cold Light Home tries to be moody but lacks attitude, and closer, Swam Out takes an awfully long time to get anywhere, but when the band finally arrive, it is a potent reminder of their exciting capabilities. It’s a shame there aren’t a few more passages like this on the record.

 

For things that don’t necessarily hit the bull’s eye, there are also some promising developments. Boy has chilling military drums that add nice detail and a lamenting trumpet at the end, providing the song with a very final feel to it (also expanding the musical palate of the album). Wind or Vertigo hints at a growing compositional ambition. Also, the piano that underpins so many of the songs has grown significantly in richness and shape from previous recordings, Happy Birthday is a case in point.

 

Slowness is a brave attempt at articulating difficult subject matter, and although the band have undoubtedly developed as writers, it finds itself in limbo: not bleak/sad enough to fully project pain and suffering, not enough attitude to vividly paint emotion. Having said that, with Slowness, Outfit have nailed their colours to the mast and given us the clearest of signals as to where they are aiming to be as artists. It’s fertile territory, and with the fast developing talent at their disposal, I’d love to see where the next step takes them.

 Adam Atkins