The End Of The Pier - The Distractions

Long-time readers of this blog will know I have a very soft spot for the 1970s/80’s Manchester band The Distractions . They brightened up my 4 years in Manchester, in that time between the end of the 70's and before the Hacienda Mad- for- it era when Manchester was still a  post-industrial shithole.

The Distractions their music and their gigs were always something me and my girlfriend (now my wife) looked forward to. We  were at nearly every gig they played in the city in our time there.

I remember buying their EP “You’re not Going Out Dressed Like That”  before I left to go to Uni in the city on recommendation of the hip young staff at the local indie record store in my home town.I went home and put it on the turntable and instantly fell in love with the sound, the lyrics, the vocal delivery. On the pictures on the sleeve they looked normal people – like me. This was what punk was really about ;people like me making good pop music, singing about stuff I knew and understood. I still listen to their music today and they mean as much to me as any band can ever mean to someone.

After their split, nothing was heard until I came across news a couple of years ago that they were going to release some new songs. So it was with some concern that I listened to the comeback  EPs “Black Velvet” and “Come Home” . I was not disappointed, the tunes, the lyrics the delivery and musicianship were all still there. Shame it wasn’t all the original members but when, like me, you are a big fan of The Wedding Present you get used to band members coming and going , it’s the spirit that remains and changes and develops whoever the members are in that particular band  around David Gedge.

It’s the same for The Distractions, if Mike Finney wasn’t  singing it wouldn’t be The Distractions and no offence to Arthur Kadmon or any other of the band members  the band was never quite the same after Steve Perrin left. (although I did love the  And Then There’s.. EP- despite the awful muddy production).

And so the follow up to Nobody’s Perfect was released in August of this year. It’s called The End of The Pier.  

I have hesitated for a number of weeks before writing this recommendation to go and buy it. I wasn’t sure that I could be impartial enough and that my love for the band wasn’t colouring my perception of this album. There are some negatives. I was disappointed there weren’t more detailed sleeve notes ( at least there weren’t on the CD) I’m not that keen on the album opener song “ I Don’t Have Time” and the album lacks a bit of  momentum , by this I mean it doesn’t really get going until Track 4 “Boots”.

After the 4th track though , it really is full on and despite only Perrin and Finney remaining from the original band and despite no joint song writing credits for them both , it is really in the tradition of the band and you can feel the legacy of their first album as well as a  sense of progression. The song’s themes are not simple “moon in June” stuff as befits a band who are now in their fifties and beyond and despite some bizarre and clumsy lyrics I like that.

I prefer the more up-tempo numbers but that’s just me. The final  track on on the CD ( The Last Song)    is  magnificent and showcases Mike Finney’s vocals as well as the excellent musicianship that flows through all the songs.  I’m not  a teacher or a lecturer but if I was giving marks out of 5 I would give this album 4. It’s not perfect, but then nothing and nobody is.

You can buy all their stuff from Occultations Records website here. You can view some  footage from their August gigs in Salford on the website here. They looked like they enjoyed themselves.

I am now looking forward to the next Distractions’ album, just don’t leave it another 32 years guys, please.