After a tepid sophmore effort that suffered from a much too safe approach, British Sea Power return the grandiose rock that characterized their wonderous debut album with their third LP, Do You Like Rock Music?.
Starting with feedback, a military drum march, and chants, openening prelude "All In It" fades into the first true song "Lights Out For Darker Skies" and what a song it is. Massive riffs and drums prolong the song foward while Gang of Four-style guitars pepper the song with sharp notes. Midway through the initial fury draws to a halt before shooting up for a fantastic finish that climaxes with swaths of feedback showering the listener.
The next few songs follow this formula with singers Yan and Hamilton taking turns dispensing thoughts on the modern world mixed with peculiar historical allusions while the guitars continue their epic ring. Many bands strive for this "epic" sound these days and many fail or let their ideas become too muddled and lose focus. The Annuals come to mind. However where many of those groups fail, British Sea Power succeed by never letting the over whelming sound mask the smart hooks of their pop. The songs are able to contain remarkable structure throughout the album.
After an initial coda at the beginning of live-favorite "Atom", Yan entails "I'll be the first to admit this a bright and halted age". Thankfully, we have him and his bandmates to record it for us.
Score: 9.1
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