Review:

on 2011-02-22 CharlesMartel Said:

Oi was something I never really got into. To me, it was always associated with rowdy, racist skinheads who had consumed too much alcohol for anyone's good and consequently got aggressive. As a result I steered clear of oi bands, like the Blitz. It was therefore with some surprise that I discovered "Second Empire Justice", the band's second album. Having regarded practitioners (if you could call them that) of oi as knuckle-dragging Neanderthals, a post-punk album from such a source was something different and not at all expected.

Most likely this had something to do with the fact that, after their first album, Blitz split into two factions: the oi faction led by guitarist Nidge Miller with the more progressive, adventurous element led by vocalist Carl Fisher. Fisher's vision eventually won out. Miller left and "Second Empire Justice" was the result of the change in direction which is quite stark to anyone who has heard Blitz in their original incarnation. This an album which ticks many of the boxes one would expect of early-eighties British post-punk. Many, but not all.

It does not take long to figure out where the band's influences lie. As soon as the opening track, "Flowers and Fire", gets underway you can pick out elements of the Cure, the Sound or the Chameleons. The tribalistic thumping of oi drumming has been replaced by something deeper which flows better and is less aggressive. The guitar and keyboards have also been given a makeover in the more sophisticated seam. Finally, while the vocals are mixed low, they contribute on an overall sound which is pretty good. The following tracks, "Underground" and "Acolyte" follow a similar pattern though they begin to presage what is to follow.

But this is an album of considerable diversity, not always employed successfully I have to say, and as a result, the consistency of influences is not there throughout the whole album. They even take a nod at their oi roots with "White Man", a track which quite frankly seems wildly out of place on this album - quite apart from having the most stupid lyrics on the entire album. By the time the album reaches "Solar" (of which there are two versions on here) the songs have developed a more New Romantic feel to them. "Telecommunication" has that lighter feel to it which is reminiscent of bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, but the oft-stated opinion that the band were attempting to the occupy the same space as U2 seems well wide of the mark.

By the time you get to the fourth track, "Into the Daylight", the changes and diversions from standard post-punk fare are beginning to disappear. The drums are more pulsating and rhythmic and the attempt to claim sort of common ground with the New Romantics is clear. This is clearest with the final track of the original album, "H.M.K. Grey", which is a sort of instrumental version of something the early Spandau Ballet could have put out. Perhaps this was a deliberate effort to avoid the more morose quasi-Goth aspect of post-punk, but at times it seems as if the album is in fact two different albums altogether.

This extended CD has the bonus addition of five tracks not available on the original vinyl release. There are two version each of "Solar" and "Husk" which were released as a double-A-sided single shortly before this album came out, and the other is "Teletron", which reminds me of a less jagged version of the Gang of Four. These are the tracks where the divergence from the tracks on the original album are most stark. Yet, this remains a good piece of work from another UK band which went nowhere (as usual). When it is good it is very good: when it is not so good, well the jury is still out on that one. Sadly this is all but unavailable these days and so you are likely to have to download it if you want to hear just how good it can be.
Rating: 6/10