Deacon Blue - Believers
- Written by Ben Macnair
On Believers, Deacon Blues eighth studio album they set out their political song-writing, and surging, anthemic pop, using new production techniques and Ricky Ross’s tried, and trusted song-writing.
So, there is little of the rock/pop bombast of their early hit singles, such as 'Real Gone Kid', or 'Wages Day', or the Celtic sound of 'Queen of the New Year', but the album shows a definite progression. Bruce Springsteen, Celtic pop and rock, and heartland Americana have always been a part of the Deacon Blue sound, with James Prine’s melodic, virtuoso keyboards and piano adding to the mix, such as in the opening title track, 'The Believers', 'Gone', or the soaring 'Delivery Man' whilst the closing instrumental track 'B Boy' is a gentle sigh of music, with a full string section, and gentle drums, bass, and vocal murmurings.
'Birds' is one of the ballads that the group does so well, with dovetailing piano, strings and glockenspiel’s all adding to the general mood of the piece, whilst 'You Can’t Know Everything' is a strident song, that starts slowly, and builds to a crescendo, with the vocal styles of Ross and Lorraine Mcintosh bringing pathos to the album’s last song, 'Come Awake', which tells a love story using little more than heartfelt vocals and piano.
The group, though has developed some new tricks, which are heard to best effect on 'Meteors', 'This is a Love Song', and 'Gone'. Sharing production and mixing duties are Paul Savage (Mogwai, Arab Strap, The Twilight sad) and Michael Brauer (Coldplay, John Mayer), so the soaring, almost dance like keyboard patterns that of Coldplay who recently added to their sound, which is mirrored on this album. It is no bad thing, and shows that Deacon Blue are not content to rest on the laurels that have seen them sell more than 6 million albums, and sell out many concerts around the world in their more than thirty year career.