The punchy, emotive rock of Broken Chanter takes a listener back. There's something straightforward here that recalls the best alternative records of, say, the Nineties, even as Daivd MacGregor's impassioned vocals give the material on This Could Be Us, You, or Anybody Else a real currency.
The smartly-titled opener "The Future is Bright and I Don't Want It" has the rush of stuff like The Call about it. And it's a little hard not to see the anthemic possibilities of the piece with the "Some days wash over me" refrain from MacGregor. "Shake It To Bits" is even better, offering up an energy that keeps this material as lively as possible, even as it sounds as radio-ready as stuff like Sam Fender. In a perfect world, Broken Chanter would be just as big, yeah.
Produced by Paul Savage (The Delgados), This Could Be Us, You, or Anybody Else sounds great. There's a spaciousness to the cuts which gives MacGregor's voice plenty of room, and things are nicely and neatly mixed. The bright alt-rock of something like "A Year Without a Summer" is what makes this record so listenable. David MacGregor's best tracks favor a directness, loaded with emotion, while the instrumental passages surge and soar. If you like late Nineties Manics, for example, or Doves, you'll likely find lots and lots to love here on this new Broken Chanter effort.
This Could Be Us, You, or Anybody Else by Broken Chanter is out on Chemikal Underground now.
[Photo: Stephanie Gibson]