After 2012’s bass-heavy, funk-fused Deep Heat, Alexander Gow retreats back to the pensive acoustic indie-pop that defined Oh Mercy’s earlier releases. Fourth album When We Talk About Love is stylistically closest to 2008 debut Privileged Woes, and the lyrics show Gow at his most personal.
Sweeping strings accompany softly strummed tales of loneliness and heartbreak to emasculating effect. Let Me Be Him is a plea to be another man who might have a better shot with his object of affection, while the pained verses of Iron Cross climax with a defiant “I’m a man.” The opening track, Without You, is a sunny but sad affair that recalls Wild Nothing, and it’s quite the stunner. Gradually building without the need for a chorus, the song’s strength is in its simplicity.
Meanwhile, that same simplicity hinders a handful of the album’s mid-tempo numbers; the repetitive hooks and lyrics on tracks like I Don’t Really Want To Know and If You Come Around Tonight make them accessible on first listen, but somewhat insubstantial on return visits. More successful are the gentle, aching ballads like Lady Eucalyptus, Iron Cross and Cool Water. The cathartic strength of these weepy wonders more than makes up for those moments when it all gets a bit beige.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
