1.Don't Touch That Dial (5:25) 2.The One That Got Away (4:55) 3.On/Off (1:43) plus Careless [video]
It's been suggested that Dave Gedge's Cinerama are gradually turning back into his former band,
The Wedding Present. Not only because former Weddoes guitarist Simon Cleave is back on board and co-writing most of the material, or because the earlier band's songs are creeping back into the live set. Not even because female vocalist/keyboard player Sally Murrell no longer tours with them. The actual Cinerama sound is reverting slightly to the noisier territory of the Wedding Present, although the increased subtlety and use of orchestration makes them the more satisfying act for me.
I had no idea this record was even coming out until I saw it in the shop. The right people knew to vote it top of the Festive Fifty though.
The title Don't Touch That Dial is presumably a sardonic reference to the song's lack of radio-friendliness. Its closest relative is Cinerama's former John Peel favourite, 'Health and Efficiency', although the song is more about breaking up than adolescent sexuality.
The One That Got Away is a slightly more commercial tune, although a slight melodic similarity to the Yardbirds' hit 'For Your Love' may have kept it from the A-side.
During the brief but energetic On / Off Gedge claims that "They say having your heart broken is easier than breaking someone's heart", before point out that they're wrong. But who does say that? Nobody's ever said it to me.
As the video doesn't duplicate a track already on the CD, it would technically render the disc ineligible for the singles chart, although a glance at the band's previous chart history suggests that it wasn't much of an issue. Careless (from 2002's Torino album) is accompanied by documentary footage, apparently intended for a forthcoming DVD. There's a tiny cameo by Sean Hughes, but the most surprising aspect for me was the discovery that bassist Terry de Castro, formerly of Goya Dress, is in fact a woman. I didn't realise that before.
ONLINE:
The official site gives this release its own page.
There's a Gedge interview at Three Imaginary Girls.com.
This interview reveals that Dave Gedge hates saxophones.
This looks very good, although it's in Spanish.
And this one's in Japanese.
Back to the random single project