'Bad Bohemian’ is the first single from the Cumbria/Brighton/Isle of Skye band. It's all summed up in that title, isn't it? The raison d'etre of British Sea Power, one of the most important British guitar-based bands of the 21st century. Intelligent, thoughtful, and yet playful and downright fun. Bohemian in spirit, internationalist in outlook, they also continue to wave the flag for alt-indie rock, a flag waving that isn’t nationalist, as depicted in one of their best known songs, ‘Waving Flags’, but one which is waving the flag for people in general; across borders, nationalities and creeds. Tied in with this is their ongoing cheerleading for serious (as opposed to idle) bohemianism, cultural and historical enlightenment in general, whilst concerning themselves with the local and matters closer to home. “You said the world was losing all its lustre / You realised each day you're growing old / And the future stretches out there between us / And we decide if we want it to be cold / But don’t be a bad bohemian,” sings Yan over a Cure-sounding bass-driven groove; a track that sets the template for the often euphoric nature of their spacious indie-rock music that has many moments within that allow the listener to luxuriate in the waves, pulses and textures of their ‘big’ sound.

Made in the shadows of Brexit, Trump and rising populism/nationalism, Let the Dancers Inherit The Party covers subject matters ranging from the stars in the night sky and friendships to media manipulation. And while BSP's pro-European, multi-cultural inclusiveness has always been a feature, optimism still reigns, even if the sentiments are being expressed a little more succinctly, if still poetically, in these more direct times. Singer and guitarist Scott ('Yan') Wilkinson recently told Brightonsfinest, "It is an album very much aware of the present day and the great possibilities that are out there as well as the worrying emerging ignorance and violence. It really does feel all the predictive sci-fi writing of past years is coming true. This album attempts to find an emotional response of hope and kindness in the face of this."

Even though the album is almost entirely guitar-based (with some keys, and electronic fills and flourishes here and there), on several levels this is a more cohesive and sophisticated work, a less caustic affair that reflects their new found circumstances: marriage, children, and indeed geographical divides (three members live in Brighton, one in Cumbria, whilst Neil and Abi live in a bothy on the Isle of Skye). Let the Dancers Inherit the Party flows better than their usual eclectic hotch-potch of styles and moods. As an album it flows well from beginning to end. They have also loosened a little their penchant for arcane historical, musical and literary references, although of course – and this is part of their ongoing charm – they are still here and there on the album. Such as on ‘The Voice of Ivy Lee’, which features a surprisingly rugged Springsteenian highway-rock feel, but is appropriately allied to a rare foray into American culture and history, as Yan speaks about the so-called ‘inventor’ of public relations and, in its essence, propaganda. And the euphoric International Space Station came about as a result of Yan’s on-going interest in Geoff Goddard, the man who came up with the distinctive electronic keyboard (possibly a clavioline) melody that underpinned the massive instrumental hit ‘Telstar’ of 1962, which was itself made in response to the launching of the same name satellite that very year. Yan’s early idea was to call the song ‘Telstar 2’, and there is a similar keyboard melody that underlies what eventually became a typically bouncy rocker in BSP style, but in terms of sentiments high in praise for the possibilities of global communications.

BSP however aren’t undiluted optimists. And a shade of causticness does reveal itself on the title of the album itself, which is from a very short poem by Scottish poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, and can be heard in the gently acerbic ‘Praise for Whatever’, Yan clearly indicating that, again possibly in response to Brexit et al, there is simply too much tiresome talk these days.

Then again, BSP are looking inward to reach out, as on the pop-friendly ‘Sechs Freunds (Keep on Trying)’ – try saying sechs without it sounding like sex; perhaps as a sly joke was the intention there – which is a German phrase for six friends and is used as metaphor for the idea of six degrees of separation. But for the most part their optimism tempered with melancholia, the resulting bittersweet brew both a rallying call, but also a poetic portrayal of a confusing world, and the desire for a simpler world, and life. Hence, Yan’s penchant for growing vegetables, various members getting married, having children, and Neil and Abi’s relatively simple existence up on the Isle of Skye.

But for the moment, long live British Sea Power!
Jeff Hemmings

Website: britishseapower.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/BSPofficial
Twitter: twitter.com/BSPOfficial

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