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Say 4AD to most people and one of two types of bands are usually
mentioned. Either wispy and ethereal, such as the Cocteau Twins, or
punky and guitar driven, a la Throwing Muses, The Breeders,
and most famously of the lot, Pixies.
One of 4AD's lesser-known acts are His Name Is Alive. Despite being
around for over ten years, they've never really permeated into the public
consciousness. They started out in the 'wispy, ethereal' category, before
many different augmentations of their line up meant a substantial mutation
of their sound. At first listen, His Name Is Alive now sound like one of
those jazz-funk combos so beloved of newly married couples with a penchant
for throwing dinner parties. The 4AD mark of quality means that the band
isn't averse to some experimentation, which mixes things up nicely.
The quiet string laden build up of the opening Deep soon segues into the guitar
chords of the title track, and it becomes clear that we're dealing with
songs with a languid, late night feel to them. The hypnotic presence of
former gospel singer Lovetta Pippen towers over proceedings adding an
undeniably classy sheen. It's similar to Morcheeba at their best, but
without the air of blandness that the latter sometimes slip into.
The quality continues with Crawling, and the sing-song chorus of
Teardrops starts off endearing and soon becomes compulsive as the song
progresses. The highlight though is I Have Special Powers, a lush ballad
with Pippin at her considerable best.
There are weaknesses with this record however. The aforementioned
experimentation often veers dangerously close to self-indulgence. For
example, the eleven minute jazz improvisation of Someday My Prince Will Come could test anybody's patience. There is also a nagging feeling of
style over content - everything sounds great here, but too many of the songs
are lightweight and fail to make much of an impression. The overriding
impression of some tracks on here is that of beret sporting jazz buffs
nodding their head earnestly whilst trying not to look too pleased with
themselves.
It's a shame that His Name Is Alive go down this route, as there are
moments on this album of genuine excellence. Pippin is a singer of rare
quality and lifts some of the more mundane songs out of the ordinary. The
lack of substance here though means that Last Night would be more suited
for quiet background music than anything more inspiring.
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