It is seven years since The Sensible Gray Cells’ debut long player, Postcard From Britain, was released. It was full of comment on the world we live in. Almost conceptual, in fact. English Summer is an example of an amazingly prophetic track given what has happened in 2020, albeit for different reasons (‘festivals cancelled …where’s our summer gone?’) The lively, almost skiffle beat on it is an example of SGC drawing respectfully on vintage music styles, something that is evident again on the new album. SGC’s sound lies somewhere between classic garage psyche and roll, psychedelia and English punk rock. With sharp wit, comment and opinion infiltrating the lyrical matter. Check out Tragic Roundabout.
‘Paul Gray and myself being garage-psych aficionados would rather hear more of this kind of music and this is our contribution to the cause.’ – Captain Sensible
Now in late 2020, a follow up album is upon us. Get Back Into The World was issued on 27th November. The trio are very much an English punk super group, with members spread across The Damned, Johnny Moped, The Weird Things and Eddie and the Hot Rods. Ray Burns, AKA Captain Sensible, and classic and current era bassist Paul Gray, make up The Damned and Eddie and the Hot Rods contingent, with drummer Martin Parrott (AKA Marty Love) replacing Anthony Thickett on drums on this second record. The Captain was an early member of Johnny Moped, and Marty Love (Parrott) has been behind the drum kit for the band in more recent times.
The Damned stable has been busy during 2020. The band’s original line up of Vanian, Sensible, Scabies and James are reuniting for a series of gigs in 2021 (pandemic permitting), This is the second release involving Paul Gray, following on from the recent Professor And The Madmen’s Séance. He was joined in the latter recording by legendary drummer Rat Scabies, who himself has appeared on two further albums issued during 2020, by The Sinclairs and One Thousand Motels.
The Sensible Gray Cells’ new record has a full-on sound, with in-yer face guitars, melodic bass lines a-plenty backed up with strong, enthralling drum patterns providing a thumping backbeat. Similar to Keith Moon at times. There are also Hammond organ and keyboard splashes. And other noises. Hurrah!
The style is in keeping with Postcard From Britain. There are no doubting the members’ punk credentials – what about their garage rock n roll ones?
The album opens in belting style with high tempo rocker Sell Her Spark. There are few sporting venues that provide the atmosphere of Selhurst Park, home to Crystal Palace Football Club. Or ‘Soccer’ club, for readers in the United States. This tune is an ode the intense, bouncing vibe of the Eagles’ ground, with the noise of the red and blue clad fans providing an escape from day to day life. The rivalry with the Seagulls of Brighton and Hove Albion is mentioned. Captain Sensible supports Palace, and in case you haven’t figured it out – Sell-Her-Spark = Sel-Hurst-Park.
Title track Get Back Into The World has a far more reflective quality. At the same time the planet is so connected globally we are getting more disconnected at a personal level. The song tackles this, pointing a finger at the likes of Amazon for telling us what to buy, and what we want, for example. We used to decide this for ourselves, see. The staccato minor stab of the vintage sounding piano gives the verse a slightly sinister feel, giving way to a singalong positive chorus. The psychedelic finale is particularly effective, with it barren sonic.
Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You shudders from the speakers, its garage psyche groove topped off with a Hammond organ wash. The ominous warnings of those around us when we were younger, wilder and free become more and more relevant as we get older, the lyrics warn us. How true, too. The production on the guitar solo is tremendous, giving way to more Hammond prior to the final verse and chorus.
The sixties feel continues with Black Spider Memo Man. Poignant words are sung wonderfully well by the Captain – with a vulnerability which suits such a mournful tune. It reminds me of some of the man’s solo work, such as Croydon.
Stupid Dictators is a superb number. It can be interpreted in several ways. A dictator can exist in society at many levels. There are obvious political and governmental ones, as well as entertainment ones. ‘Another clown must be found, start a new battleground’’ can apply to voting an American Idol or X-Factor winner as much as electing a new President or Prime Minister.
The My Generation-esq riff that introduces the rousing new 45 So Long should get many a psyche fan skipping across a dance floor. If night clubs were open, that is. Lyrics drawn from English political and cultural history, with a reminder of the power of the masses. A belting tune.
A grand intro sets off A Little Prick. Its sound contains the key psyche ingredients – organ, mildly distorted jangly guitar, drums patterns spinning with cymbal crashes, driving the melodic bass. The Captain’s vocals are strong and deliver the subject matter accordingly. The ‘virus fear’ that has dictated our behaviour in 2020 has brought with it a kind of ‘medical marshal law’, enforcing various lockdowns designed to control society. The pandemic controls our freedom. So, could a ‘billionaire’ manipulate it all, acting as a ‘social engineer’? Surely not? But maybe. The song’s words may articulate what many a cynic may already be thinking. The robotic voice delivering the warning of the mid-section tells us it’ll ‘this will end when I say it ends’. Chilling, right?
The rock n’ rolling D.J. With Half A Brain skids by like a roadster spraying dirt. We all could name D.J.s with not even half a brain, right? Excellent guitar work by the Captain, with spacey keys in the backing. Indeed, these spacey keys lead into the next track, the largely instrumental Jam Tomorrow. Its riffy bass and deep keyboard set the groove, a heavy blue strut in the vein of Deep Purple at their rootsiest, with a good helping of Grateful Dead influence too. Powerful rhythm work by Messrs Gray and Parrott.
The Paul Gray-penned ode to the English royal Family’s most pointless member, Prince Andrew, is sheer delight. Member has its double meaning, natch. What’s The Point Of Andrew? is short, succinct and precise in its subject. The Queen’s ‘favourite son’ has a reputation which is ’done’. The regal interlude, a brass melodic section, raises the satirical charm nicely before its final words deriding the royal amnesiac. Sung by Paul, it really is a fantastic piece.
Fine Fairweather Friend has an edgy, indie drift alongside its garage rock feel. The solo guitar works well in unison with the chorus vocal, with Sensible’s lead guitar grabbing plenty of opportunity to shine, working well in a ‘question and answer’ format during the staccato verse. A song easy to relate to as well. As is I Married A Monster! Its urgent opening gives way to a guitar riff and up-tempo beat, with the ironic addition of wedding bells particularly effective.
The penultimate track, You And Me, is reflective and provocative. The relationship between the governed and those who govern is alluded to, but the main feature is the psychedelic drop out section. It produces a barren soundscape, with special effects and echoey chamber-style guitar over keyboard drones. Unexpected.
The album closes with Another World. More keyboard drones ease the number in and are soon joined by Indian scales and sounds on the Captain’s guitar. A gentle rhythm then drops in. The low-key, deep and hushed vocals work especially well, with accompaniment courtesy of a woman whose identity I don’t know. The eastern quality of the track continues throughout and in all, it is a number that could have found a home in any number of late sixties counter-culture albums, such as those produced by The Incredible String Band or Jefferson Aeroplane. Indeed, had a set of tablas and a sitar appeared it would have come as no surprise. Paul’s bass delivers yet more melodic runs, and Marty’s percussion is skilful and subtle. The feel is loose, and it draws the record to a very satisfactory conclusion.
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Get Back Into The World is a commentary and comment on the world in 2020. It is both micro and macro, and in a lot of ways is like 2013’s A Postcard Form Britain. A good thing – I enjoy the ‘postcard’ type approach to an album. But what makes the album poignant is the way the world has changed since 2013 – more dehumanisation, more globalisation, a pandemic and social isolation. Therefore, such ‘postcards’ are fascinating comparisons between these years.
However, the record is much more than that. The vibrant garage rock n’roll and style of the songs are a world away from much of The Damned and Johnny Moped’s output. As is the psychedelia. It opens new doors.
In a world locked down by the effects of COVID-19, a positive has been the various side projects of members of The Damned, particularly involving Gray, Scabies and Sensible.
It will be a while before live music shows will return to our world, and when the do, The Damned will be up there with their original line up. In the meantime, console yourself with albums such as Get Back Into The World by The Sensible Gray Cells.
It makes total sense.
