Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees 6 months ago
  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash 7 months ago
  • Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019 7 months ago
  • 25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11 7 months ago
  • Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: DiS Does Big Ears 8 months ago
  • IDLES Smash It In Sheffield 8 months ago
  • More bands announced for DiS partnered Fuzz Club Eindhoven 8 months ago
  • The Shape Of Punk To Come?: DiS Meets Crows 9 months ago
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

The Proclaimers

Angry Cyclist

Label: Cooking Vinyl Release Date: 10/08/2018

105773
Kellmill by Kellan Miller August 20th, 2018

Active since the late Eighties, the decade that saw singles like ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ and ‘I’m On My Way’ become actual hits, The Proclaimers – aka Scottish twins brother duo Charlie and Craig Reed – don't bother the charts these days, but retain an impressively loyal following. 2015’s well-received Let’s Hear It For The Dogs was built around their signature Scottish folk tinge, electric guitars, and a dose of political fervour. The beauty of The Proclaimers is their capacity for making exceedingly catchy rhythms with an unmistakable flair for anything considered topical. On their eleventh studio album, Angry Cyclist, they remain steadfast and true to that formula.



As social provocateurs, they at times ascend to their highest order on Angry Cyclist. The title seems to be preoccupied with all manner of societal ills, ranging from bigotry to fascism to good ol’ fashioned ignorance. Bands of The Proclaimers’s vintage can sound tired. But on Angry Cyclist, The Proclaimers at times walk a resplendent line between nostalgic leanings and fresh abracadabra moments. On the title track, a flurry of pensive strings, arpeggiated acoustic guitar, and a funereal sounding piano collide rather seamlessly with electric guitar and kinetic, pulsating drums, making for one of the best songs of their long career entirety.

The ‘Angry Cyclist’ theme abounds once again in the jaunty, harmonic ‘Stretch’, and it soon becomes apparent that the topicality of the album is namely concerned with the decadence of a society gone to hell. But the brothers take a break from depressing overtures to get downright wistful on the ode to their homeland, ‘The Streets of Edinburgh’, arguably the best moment on the album. Plodding and melodic, the song is a bit of a departure from the uptempo grooves the majority of the album has to display, such as ‘You Make Me Happy,’ where the brothers sing of achieving a state of romantic bliss so potent it has the ability to eradicate all of life’s inherent negativity. The similarly charged ‘Then It Comes to Me’, a sentimental trek through the past, is propelled by enterprising guitars and steady drums breaks.

But the second half is weaker. The band sound a bit clumsy on the likes of ‘Sometimes It’s the Fools’ and ‘Information’; ‘Looted’ commences with an infectious guitar riff, but quickly dissolves into a messy hodgepodge of disjointedness In some respects ‘Classy’ is a welcome deviation, fusing simple folk, singalong nursery rhyme cadences with punchy guitars. But soon the novelty wears off, and what we’re left with is a rather hokey venture with no sense of direction or purpose for that matter.

‘The Battle of the Booze’ rebounds the album quite nicely. A sprightly, straightforward romp about the highs and lows of alcohol may come across as a tad bit corny in the hands of most crooners, but The Proclaimers’ affinity for engaging otherwise frivolous focus of attention and refashioning them into difficult to ignore, titillating moments is what has made them such endearing rocksmiths over the years. ‘I’d Ask the Questions’ where the brothers spin a madcap line of questioning into a tender exposition on loss, is a superb conclusion to an overall wildly uneven effort. Despite Angry Cyclist’s shortcomings, the peaks are high enough to earn its place in the band’s long, lustrous discography.

![105773](http://dis.resized.images.s3.amazonaws.com/540x310/105773.jpeg)
  • 6
    Kellan Miller's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash


  • Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019


  • 25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11


  • Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: DiS Does Big Ears


  • IDLES Smash It In Sheffield



Left-arrow

Oh Sees

Smote Reverser

Mobback
105770
105781

The Necks

Body

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137
  • Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136

    Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
  • Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134

    Festival Review


    Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: Di...

  • 106133
  • Live Review


    IDLES Smash It In Sheffield

  • 106132

    Festival Preview


    More bands announced for DiS partnered Fuzz Clu...

  • 106131
  • Interview


    The Shape Of Punk To Come?: DiS Meets Crows

  • 106123
MORE


    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • feature


    Panic Prevention: At the drink with Jamie T

  • 14183

    feature


    The Knife: Swedish purveyors of alien synergy

  • 27337
  • Column


    DiS Does Singles 22.04.13: Daft Punk, Savages, ...

  • 89944

    DiScover


    ReDiScover: Low

  • 12734
  • In Depth


    Lou Reed: An Eu-lulu-ogy

  • 93330

    DiScussion


    Emo? Twee? In unnecessary defence of Neutral Mi...

  • 93713
  • Interview


    Ace of Bass: DiS Meets Royal Blood

  • 97097
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2019 DROWNED IN SOUND