SOTD #54 // The Concretes: 'Good Evening'

Arriving in my twitter stream this morning was something a little more satisfying than the usual array of pointless hash-tags and self-loathing nonsense from music industry types (#althoughicantreallytalk)… “Here’s our new song, ‘Good Evening’. We hope you like it. Love, The Concretes”. That’s the kind of thing I like to wake up to in the morning. That and a good cup of coffee.

The Concretes‘ 2007 album Hey Trouble was a huge stepping stone in the bands career. Co-founder and lead vocalist Victoria Bergsman had departed the band shortly after the release of the bands second album In Colour in favour of pastures new, leaving fellow founder and original drummer Lisa Milberg to take center stage as her replacement. Hey Trouble wasn’t perfect, but it showed a huge amount of promise and a definite sign that there was still life left in the band. With, or without Bergsman.

So here we are – 2010. Three years on and we finally have the first glimpse of the new album – WYWH (due in October). So what does “Good Evening” sound like? Well, The Concretes *obviously*. But it sounds like they’ve been re-invigorated. It’s not the twee Concretes of old. “Good Evening” is a sassy, bass heavy six minute workout. Like what Music Go Music would sound like if they we’re so heavily indebted to Abba. It keeps itself to itself for a good two and a half minutes – with Milberg softly cooing over restrained drums and a gently effected guitar. It’s the bass line that holds everything together until the chorus finally makes its appearance and lifts “Good Evening” to the next level. It almost starts to soar into a disco flavour, but drops out just before you start to *bust some moves*. Subtle as hell.

The thing with The Concretes is that they know how to reward the listener. They specialise in aural candy. Pick out any song from the bands canon and you’ll hear just what I’m talking about. Press play on “Good Evening” and just wait until you hear the songs outro. From subtle to sexy swagger in the space of a few seconds. The Concretes are back, and I’m a very happy man.

The Concretes: “Good Evening”