Graded on a Curve:
The Wedding Present,
24 Songs

In 2022, The Wedding Present kicked out a double A-sided 7-inch single a month for the whole calendar year, an ambitious undertaking that in short order was compiled into an already scarce limited edition box set. There’s no need for dejection however, as the band’s singer-guitarist, chief songwriter, and sole constant member David Gedge has taken on a curatorial role and reassembled the 24 Songs project into a 3LP set with five bonus tracks, plus a DVD. On August 11, this updated sequence hits stores in the USA on black or light blue vinyl through Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records of Athens, GA.

That The Wedding Present are still active isn’t especially surprising. Plenty of bands just keep on doing it because being a band is what they do, to say nothing of the lucrative factor. But The Wedding Present still making high quality music after four decades of existence is a less likely scenario, especially when factoring in personnel changes, with a high frequency of such regularly coinciding with a lessening of worthiness.

The project that shaped 24 Songs isn’t a novel one for Gedge and crew, for in 1992 The Wedding Present undertook Hit Parade, a yearlong run of monthly singles that’s noted for it’s unbroken string of UK Top 40 hits (matching a precedent set by Elvis Presley). Indeed, 24 Songs is described as a direct anniversary acknowledgement of the Hit Parade endeavor without attempting to directly repeat it; for starters, all the Hit Parade B-sides were covers.

Impressively, 24 Songs focuses almost entirely on original material. The exceptions are “We Should Be Together,” an unreleased song from Sleeper in duet with that band’s Louise Wener (Sleeper’s Jon Stewart currently plays guitar in The Wedding Present) plus solid dives into Magazine’s “A Song From Under the Floorboards” (the Feb B-side) and The Clash’s “White Riot” (a bonus track). And while Hit Parade kind of registered as a fun lark that exploded expectations, 2022’s dozen singles, which were all initially released separately, connects as a more serious affair having extended out of pandemic-constrained productivity.

As the tracks unwind, the cumulative heft documents an outfit that seems determined to quash any doubts into their longevity (without being obsessed with appearances). Albums (triple albums, even) are fine and dandy, but the true unit of measurement of a pop-rock band’s creative vitality is the ability to cut a strong single. Cut 12 of them in a year and you’re relevance is impossible to deny.

Sequencing the 3LP edition of 24 Songs with listenability in mind rather than maintaining release chronology was a smart move, particularly as “I Am Not Going to Fall in Love With You,” February’s A-side and side one’s opener, is an utter gem of transcendental riffing recalling the band in their Bizarro-era prime (but with Melanie Howard’s vocals reinforcing a contemporary feel).

Given Gedge’s distinctive timbre and delivery, it’s hard to mistake these songs for anybody else’s, but it’s still laudable how the songwriting has resisted formula (Stewart’s input likely helps in this department). “We All Came From the Sea” is a prime example in its single version and especially in its bonus track Utah Saints remix (which vibes like a track on a CMJ New Music Monthly giveaway compilation CD circa 1994). The bottom line is that 24 Songs’ nearly 125 minutes are a maximal experience that pretty amazingly never wears thin. The Wedding Present’s continued significance is felt throughout.

GRADED ON A CURVE:
A

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