Hepburns, The - In the Mean Time

Radio Khartoum
(khz118: 0664449202724)
Release date: 04/06/2018
Genre: Indiepop

$12.90

“What it all comes down to is anger. The new Hepburns album is also given to joy, humour, and deep reverence for life’s in-between moments—but its heart is full of rage. Against the prejudice which fostered Brexit and Trump, yes; against the plutocrats pulling the strings, yes; but above all against the fact that, mean as these times are, one day we will have to leave it all behind.” —Matt Jones

The Hepburns craft songs at a tangent to real events, always with a view to creating something beautiful and emotionally evocative. This time around the recordings are anchored by brass arrangements galore and Jones’s use of a 1960s Italian-made Contessa semi-acoustic guitar that belonged to the group’s late drummer, Pat Grover. Musical references include late-’60s to early-’70s easy listening (Alan Hawkshaw, Bert Kaempfert), TV and film themes (Ronnie Hazlehurst, Roy Budd) as interpreted by a late-’80s British guitar-pop band, and Jonathan Richman’s “Roadrunner” and “Egyptian Reggae”.

Includes 20-page illustrated booklet of lyrics and song notes.

1. Abattoir
2. Bees
3. In the Mean Time
4. Songs to Bring You Back
5. She’s a Colossus
6. Porthcawl
7. Cornerman
8. Late-Eighties Dream
9. Suburb-o-tron
10. Heading East, Facing West
11. Cigarette
12. Summer of Nothing
13. Top Shelf
14. Valencia
15. Legspinner
16. Nova