On April 4, veteran UK post-punkers The Nightingales, led as ever by vocalist Robert Lloyd, return with The Awful Truth, an appropriately bent reaction to the sorry state of the world. It’s available on red vinyl and compact disc from Fire Records. Joining Lloyd in The Nightingales are Andreas Schmid on bass, Fliss Kitson on drums, and James Smith on guitar.
Formed in 1979, The Nightingales rose from the ashes of The Prefects, an exquisitely amateurish first wave punk outfit noted for their inclusion on the White Riot tour of The Clash and for playing with UK punk heavyweights Buzzcocks, The Damned, The Fall, and The Slits. The Prefects didn’t get a record out until after they’d broken up, but The Nightingales managed three full-lengths, three EPs, and seven singles during the first stretch of their existence, which lasted until 1987 amid a slew of personnel changes. Recommencing activity in 2004, the sole constant has been vocalist Robert Lloyd.
In their initial run, The Nightingales pulled off an impressive feat, increasing in competence without softening their sound for the mainstream, instead leaning into a bold strain of post-punk, often with a raw, wild edge, and with nods to indie pop and the UK DIY scene. This made them John Peel favorites. All three of the ’80s full lengths, Pigs on Purpose (1982), Hysterics (1983), and In the Good Old Country Way (1986) have been reissued by Fire subsidiary Call of the Void.
The Nightingales haven’t floundered in their return to action (Lloyd seems to have gotten the misstep out of his system with a 1990 major label solo album Me and My Mouth). And this second stretch of Nightingales action has reinforced similarities to fellow punk-era survivors with an edge The Membranes and The Mekons. Deepening a connection to The Mekons, The Awful Truth’s opener “The New Emperor’s New Clothes” is a spirited stomper with viola in the mix.
“Same Old Riff” follows with comparable energy and spirit that’s capped by the rapid fire social commentary in Lloyd’s gruffly unconventional vocal. Lloyd’s even more up front during “The Gates Of Heaven Ajar,” with its cabaret swinging gone sideways, and then “The Men, Again” hits a sweet spot between scorch and groove. Stressed out and vaguely surfy, “The Best Revenge” staggers forth like an off-kilter crooner in the midst of a bender spiked with an ominous deep-throated spoken passage and instrumental burble-spasms. The pace is slowed but still tense in the side closing “Just Before.”
The flip starts off strong with “Warm Up,” a raucous punk spurt given a Fall-like twist and presented like a TV performance delivered for the weekend BBC circa 1986 complete with a host introduction. Next is “Joyce,” a big rock bruiser with ample room for Lloyd to growl around and huff out a little harmonica in the instrumental spillage of the back end, and then the spring action “All Smiles” underscores Lloyd’s abilities as a more straightforward singer.
“The Limpest Bark” gives Kitson an appealing turn at the mic before “The Princess and the Piss Artist” saunters in with some gloom-tinged C&W. “Giddy Aunt” begins with a mock interview segment, kicks into mock conventional gear, and then elects to trounce that approach. “The Morning After Mouth” delivers The Awful Truth a fittingly fucked and thunderous grand sweep finale. It’s nice to know The Nightingales can still be relied upon in these times of high stress and frequent disappointment.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
