Cult Figures: Between Us And Heaven

(Gare du Nord Information)

CD | LP | DL

Out twentieth October 2023

Midlands post-punks Cult Figures return with their third album, Between Us And Heaven. While it’s an album tinged with the inevitable unhappiness that follows the tragic lack of authentic singer Gary Jones, the band have clearly proven immense resolve and willpower to regroup and produce one other nice album swelling with the traditional punk-pop roots that may endlessly be their legacy.

Cult Figures have been a band born out of the colourful musical scene centred round Birmingham within the mid to late 70’s and so they developed their very own punk-pop sound as they blended with the likes of Swell Maps, Nikki Sudden, TV Eye, The Hawks and even Roger Taylor, effectively earlier than the emergence of Duran Duran. While gaining a major repute inside that scene, their premature demise adopted the trail of so a lot of their contemporaries, with solely restricted recorded output to point out for it.

Quick ahead virtually 40 years to 2015 and, following a meet up between guitarist Jon Hodgson and singer Gary Jones, Cult Figures have been reborn and a bunch of previous songs have been lastly put collectively to supply what was successfully their debut album in 2018, The 166 Ploughs A Lonely Furrow. Because the momentum grew, the rejuvenated band put collectively their second album in 2021, Deritend which totally embraced their penchant for punk, pop and psychedelia.

Nonetheless, the tragic lack of singer Gary Jones may effectively have put an finish to a journey that had solely simply begun once more. However to the immense credit score of all involved, Jon along with bassist Lee McFadden and drummer Stuart Hilton discovered the resolve and willpower to keep up the legacy and stick with it. Following the recruitment of Fraser Gillespie on lead vocals and former member of Berlin/London electro-punks Das Fluff on guitar, their third album, Between Us And Heaven got here collectively. The band additionally labored with legendary producer John Rivers at Woodbine Road Studios, Leamington Spa, persevering with a partnership relationship again to their 1979 debut single, Zip Nolan. The album is just not solely devoted to the reminiscence of Gary Jones however nonetheless has contributions from him included each in sound and lyrics.

Opening music Mr. Producer instantly hits you full on with its catchy rhythm, superb melody and harmonious backing vocals, totally acknowledging the bands punk-pop roots. With a refrain line that’s assured to remain in your head for a while, it’s little marvel this music was the primary single to come back from the album. The brilliant, recent and uplifting sound continues into the album’s title monitor which follows, the lyrics for that are taken straight from a historic and considerably inebriated radio commentary of the Fleet throughout King George VI’s coronation by Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Woodrooffe. But extra historical past preserved on the earth of rock’n’roll!

As a drum sample slowly fades in, Unburdened then explodes into life with a Buzzcocks model guitar riff because the underlying narrative seems to attempt to make sense of and untangle a present relationship. That is adopted by certainly one of two brief excerpts going with the title of Battle Of The Beefcakes. These are each taken from a 1982 4-track recording of Gary Jones whose vary of voices have been put collectively to duplicate the sound of a Welsh male voice choir.

While International Conspiracy is riddled with suspicion concerning the present state of recent day society and politics and “all of the occasions they took me for a trip”, it’s nonetheless enveloped with jangly guitars and anthemic refrain strains which at the very least assist you to dance into the inevitable darkness with a smile in your face. In the meantime One False Transfer slows issues proper again down with a considerate and reflective ballad imbued with a soulful and melancholic tone.

Regular service is resumed as each Devotion and Sitting Goal up the tempo once more as they enterprise extra in direction of a guitar-based power-pop vibe. Voice Of Cause follows with a funked-up and fractured Devo-style rhythm which nonetheless manages to search out its approach although to a giant harmonious refrain line with the guitars on overdrive because it builds to a climactic conclusion.

By no means Take The Bus unfolds with a way of menace and dread because the foreboding angular imagery inside it’s wrapped up in spoken phrase narrative, while the interaction between the guitars and rhythm part is overlayed with virtually non secular sounding backing vocals. Rapide 40 Slideout wears the bands punk roots on its sleeve because it careers by way of the closing music on the album. Extra pertinently, it’s a heartfelt take by singer Fraser given it represents the ultimate lyric penned by Gary Jones.

While the discharge of Between Us And Heaven is indelibly infused with bittersweet ideas for the tragic passing of Gary Jones, it nonetheless offers a becoming tribute to the legacy he left behind as Cult Figures proceed to hold the torch for the punk-pop roots that have been established again within the late 70’s. So at the very least the long run appears vibrant as soon as once more and plans are shaping as much as e book some reside exhibits to advertise the album within the close to future.

You possibly can pre-order the album right here.

You could find Cult Figures on Fb, Twitter and Instagram.

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All phrases by Ian Corbridge. You could find extra of his writing at his writer profile.