“Yeah!!!! Yeah!!!! Yeah!!!!” screamed a very well known Scouse band back in 1963. It is an exclamation that has gone on to shape a whole city’s musical history. And now, sixty odd years later, it just so happens to be the name of fellow Liverpool band Cast’s eighth album. It is their first release on Manchester-based label Scruff Of The Neck, who are currently leading the way for some of the most exciting indie acts at the moment, with bands like Shambolics, Pentire and The Lilacs on their roster, as well as recently signing fellow 90s baggy-jean wearing band Inspiral Carpets.
And whilst it could be argued the band, along with the Carpets, are now technically a heritage act, with their Britpop heydays being 30 years ago now (a certain age group are currently retching with nostalgia as they read), the tracks on Triple Y do not sound dated at all. In fact, they have done something completely different. There has been a bit of a soul revival moving about Merseyside in recent years, with Liverpool being at the forefront as bands and artists like Casino and Brooke Combe now call the place home.
The North of England, of course, is the spiritual home of UK soul, having adopted the genre from the Americans in the 1970s as thousands of working class youths lived for the weekend and flocked to nightclubs for all-nighters as part of the Northern Soul scene. And whilst it is not entirely a soul album, the sound is very much there, mainly thanks to a collaboration with legend of the scene, P.P. Arnold, who has worked with pretty much everyone from Tina Turner and Small Faces to The Rolling Stones, with Mick Jagger producing tracks for her first solo record back in 1967.
Her powerful vocals are a focal point of tracks like “Poison Vine”, the opener and the first single to be released from the record. It is very much the song to set the tone for the rest of the album, with all the elements there. For the OGs, it has that classic Cast groove to it, coming 30 years after the release of All Change.
The 90s are very much back in a big way too. It is as if you cannot mention Cast anymore without mentioning their role opening up for Oasis’ long awaited reunion tour last year, where millions flocked to stadiums across the world, donning bucket hats and belting out Britpop anthems with their pals. It is clear to see the album has influenced this, with “Weight Of The World” swaggering its way through the crowd after the folky number “Devil & The Deep”. A sort of Bob Dylan and Tenacious D-Before-They-Played-The-Best-Song-In-The-World hybrid ballad. From this there are mellower moments too. From the title alone you can tell “Teardrops” is going to be an emotive, sentimental type and, spoiler alert, it is.
Then there is the togetherness of it all. It is an uplifting record. Tracks like “Don’t Look Away” and single “Calling Out Your Name” are gospel-tinged, without sounding like something straight out of Sister Act, though “Free Love” does go a bit churchy in places, like if John and Yoko had written a Christian hymn.
For those who do not fancy being forgiven for their sins and want something a bit more RNR, they will soon be satisfied when it gets to the bluesy spaghetti-westernesque “Say Something New” and “Way It’s Got To Be”. Bit Riverboat Song, bit Stone Roses, with a banging bassline and a rough n ready hook. It is definitely a highlight, perhaps second to none with the last track, the soft and psychedelic, “Birds Heading South”. It sounds a bit like a more warbly, less stringy version of “Whatever” by those aforementioned, Adidas wearing Manc rockers and goes a bit “Day In The Life” towards the end. That will impress the blokes who think good music stopped when the 90s died.
Based in Norwich, Cerys Hubbard is a music journalist and history nerd whose passion for rock n roll began when she was named after Cerys Matthews.
A BIMM Brighton graduate, she founded Dead Pop Mag Society to revive the chaotic fun of 80s and 90s music journalism. Her work has led to appearances on BBC Radio and interviews with rising stars at Wild Paths Festival.
When she is not writing, Cerys works at Norwich Arts Centre, where she can be found putting up posters, pulling pints, and chatting about her favourite bands to anyone who will listen.
