There’s no legislation for the process of grieving – while mortality is a given, the reaction to it is an open book. It’s something Pure Reason Revolution explore on Coming Up To Consciousness, the art-rockers’ sixth album and their third since emerging from a 10-year hiatus in 2020.
The theme of death doesn’t so much run through the album as pace itself like a funeral cortege leaving a ceremony for the final resting place. It’s there in Dig Till You Die, as singer-guitarist Jon Courtney intones, ‘And I’m counting all the days till we next collide.’
And the presence of The Reaper is all too keenly felt on Useless Animal’s opening line, ‘I’m loading you in/It’s a ride to the grave.’ Elsewhere, As We Disappear seals the deal – just in case anyone has missed the point.
Thankfully the sombre lyrical mood is tempered by music that rises and falls in intensity as it colours the concerns with varying shades to keep the shadows at bay. Witness the languid pace of The Gallows, balanced by a sensibility that verges on pop and a palpable increase in melodicism. For sure, this is a tune that can be hummed – but whether it wants to be sung is another question altogether.
Floydian touches are in evidence, not least with Guy Pratt contributing bass
By their own admission, Pure Reason Revolution have cast their net wide for inspiration, citing Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s The Smile, Talk Talk and Arctic Monkeys as catalysts for their sound. This album mostly recalls the leisurely delivery of Super Furry Animals’ Love Kraft – without the West Coast harmonies or irreverent humour.
But those Floydian touches are in evidence, not least with Guy Pratt (a man more than a little familiar with that prog behemoth) contributing bass on seven of the album’s eight tracks, his lines solidly fluid throughout.
Pratt isn’t the only outsider making their presence felt here. Joining Courtney and guitarist Greg Jong is singer Annicke Shireen, who steps in for otherwise-occupied vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Chloë Alper, and makes a decent impression harmonising on the lilting Betrayal. Ravi Kesavaram of British alt rockers My Vitriol drums throughout, and it’s all mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord.
In keeping with Pure Reason Revolution’s most recent output, Coming Up To Consciousness is a raw and confessional album. For all that, the balm of their musical approach ultimately soothes the barbed and stark subject matter; and these healing properties are most assuredly welcome on this fine work.
Coming Up To Consciousness is on sale now via InsideOut.
