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HAPPY REFUGEES - RETURN TO LAST CHANCE SALOON [ALBUM]

ACUTE RECORDS

by Alex Taylor, December 29th, 2011 and has been Read 1481 times.
Last Edited by: Alex Taylor December 30th, 2011.

Obscurity can define. In the case of the aptly titled Happy Refugees, it instead seems to have served the band well, insulating them from the ageing process to offer one final, triumphant breath of life.

The first record sleeve made their intentions clear: "I hope Happy Refugees can breathe a breath of fresh air with this record, not just because of the songs but also because it is no way produced with the infatuation of becoming a popstar." The ambition is even timelier now than it was during the initial release of Return to Last Chance Saloon in 1984. Thus, despite the album being stubbornly ignored by the mainstream or even casual underground wannabe for the past 25 years, it is understandable that Acute Records recognised its worth.

For instance, the attitude on ‘Screaming and Shouting’ is poetically ironic and politically charged, encapsulating the dry vocal delivery that is as insightful as it is desolate: "When it’s hard to pull away that’s manipulation…my back was scratched because I wouldn’t fight back." Think Art Brut combined with early Go Between, or to put it another way, Morrissey before his first girlfriend insulted his manhood and sent him down the path of melodrama. Fortunately, with up to six members at times, the sound of the band remains textured throughout: be it the pounding piano or rough jangle guitars and echoing bass. Stand out track ‘Hamburger Boy’ is the best example of the latter, lashing out at Americanised consumer capitalism over a furious Clash guitar riff. Elsewhere, ‘This Is Cold’ provides the best of 60’s rock and 80’s post-punk, giving a sonic nod toward Velvet Underground before fluttering the eyes toward Joy Division.

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However, the deeper appeal of the Happy Refugees lies not in the extremes they touch base with, but rather the honest, personal nature of the softer songs, specifically ‘Falling For You’. The literal lyricism, although not full of anguish or gushing metaphors, undoubtedly captures real emotion in all its imperfect beauty: "you’re so clumsy and irresistible, I fall for you, while there’s things that you do that I don’t like, I don’t want to change your life."

In conclusion, Return to Last Chance Saloon offers a potent concoction of early 80’s Britain: distilling the sounds of the time alongside undercurrents of Thatcherite discontent with great charm. Happy Refugees might not have fit their time but in today’s last chance saloon, nostalgia and the weight of history are on their side.