With a subtle enhancement of the band’s sound, this is an album built on atmosphere and feel
It’s been over eight years since we last heard from The Charlatans, although in that time lead singer Tim Burgess seems to have ascended to ‘national treasure’ status. Over lockdown, Burgess saved many people’s sanity with his Twitter Listening Parties, and was a key player in helping to save legendary Manchester venues Gorilla and the Deaf Institute from closure post-covid.
There’s a bit of an emotional punch that comes with the release of the band’s 14th album, We Are Love. It’s the first Charlatans album to be recorded at the seminal Rockfield Studios since Telling Stories – an album that was released in the shadow of the death of keyboardist Rob Collins, who was killed in a car crash near the studio.
As with all Charlatans albums since that tragic event, the ghost of Collins hangs heavy over We Are Love – but not in a mordant way. There’s a celebratory air to much of the record, and, to tell the truth, despite the presence of new producers Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) and Fred McPherson from Spector, there are no real surprises: it’s more of a subtle enhancement of the band’s sound, rather than a complete overhaul, which is a wise decision.
However, that’s no bad thing – their longevity is a sign of their excellence, for one thing. Opening track Kingdom Of Ours is drenched in the trademark Charlatans keyboard sound, and features the first presumed lyrical reference to Collins’ death (“This world couldn’t hold you, it just reached you and took you”).
It’s an opener that sets the tone nicely for the rest of the album. The title track is full of energy and verve, with a blisteringly funky little guitar riff running through it, while Deeper And Deeper seems to deliberately hark back to the band’s early years – the Hammond organ heavy intro appears to ape The Only One I Know before it settles into a pretty irresistible groove. For The Girls is another highlight, a big sunny anthem of a song that will sound enormous when played loud.
It’s not all referencing past glories though. There’s a bit of a psychedelic haze running through the closing two tracks Glad You Grabbed Me and Now Everything, while there’s an almost gospel feel to the soulful You Can’t Push The River. There’s only really Salt Water which doesn’t particularly hit, a slow, slightly repetitive number which feels more like an interlude than a proper song.
If there’s a fault to We Are Love, it’s probably that the immediate hooks that define The Charlatans’ best moments are missing. It’s an album more built on atmosphere and feel, and you do sometimes miss that exhilarating rush that tracks like One To Another, Love Is The Key or Weirdo had in spades.
Ultimately though, given their chequered history, it’s an achievement that The Charlatans are still a going concern, never mind 14 albums into a career that stretches over 30 years. We Are Love is another reminder of why they’ve endured in so many hearts for so long.
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