Going, Going… to be Epic!
At a whopping 20 tracks long, The Wedding Present’s Going, Going… flexes in nearly every corner of the rock genre. At first glance, one could say that it’s “Going, Going” to be a long trip.
This UK based group was formed in ’85, but has been steadily producing music since their Smiths-era origin, many songs during which have been featured on the UK’s Top 40 at one point. Going, Going… is The Wedding Present’s ninth album, and is meant to be accompanied by several short films put together by photographer, Jessica McMillan and featuring atmospheric clips from travels across the States.
The album opens with artsy-experimental track, “Kittery” which eventually brings in heavily distorted guitar that will tickle the fancy of any shoegaze-loving dark soul. The track blends seamlessly into the following song, “Greenland,” which continues the instrumental tone, but adds a layer of spoken word map coordinates, achieving a similar effect to Phillip Glass’ “Numbers” before unfolding into “Marblehead,” a mysterious art song featuring a female and male harmony, but no lyrics, just “ahs.” “Sprague” is another instrumental piece featuring piano and strings, fading out with an echoing single piano line.
“Two Bridges” sounds like it’s from a completely different album when a straightforward rock beat emerges with playful vocals featuring conventional lyrics. This particular track isn’t completely dissimilar to mid-2000s emo. The tone continues a little more delicately in “Little Silver” but still carries the same dated alt-rock sound. “Bear” comes in with a fury of guitars laden with feedback. When the song softens, the guitar lines really shine through, but the chorus sounds as though it was borrowed from the ’90s.
A punk rock chapter of the album emerges with “Secretary,” which is fast, light, and fun as vocalist David Gedge sings, “I only ever seem to get through to your secretary” while guitars quickly strum upwardly in chromatic fashion. “Birdsnest” continues in Ramones-era punk fashion followed by “Kill Devil Hills,” which has a more rockabilly feel, primarily in the chorus.
“Bells” brings back the dark distortion and features beautiful, delicate vocals that really shine through in the bridge. “Fifty-six” is about as straightforward rock and roll as a track could get, and ends in a very flashy manner. “Fordland” stands out with a strong, catchy melody and lush violin over what is reminiscent of early Bloc Party.
The pace slows way down with stunning ballad, “Emporia,” that rolls out into a full-out headbanger, but the album picks right up again with “Broken Bow” and through the fun and quick “Ten Sleep,” which is worthy of mosh pits anywhere.
And for the cooldown, “Wales” brings back the ambient sound from the beginning with soft but stable guitar arpeggios, spoken word and even a flute thrown in. “Rachel” is another lengthy, soul-darkening ballad painting a depiction of a tumultuous relationship. “Santa Monica” closes the entire album with 10 minutes of buildup and ends this massive work appropriately—with a massive, epic track.
Without seeing the visuals that accompany Going, Going… each song paints a unique picture on its own. Given the length of the album and nature of its contents that stretch across various genres, The Wedding Present’s Going, Going… can be summed up in one word: epic.
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