Album: What is There To Smile About? EP
Year: 1988.
Coming on the heels of Foxheads Stalk This Land, the late 1988 What Is There To Smile About? EP showed the Close Lobsters toughening up their music. They were still jangling all over the place, but this was one of those EPs that was more of a progress report than a stopgap. Songs like the title track and “Loopholes” sported the kind of world-class guitar riffs & hooks that would make Johnny Marr spin around in his grave.
And if you’ve ever heard any Close Lobsters song, chances are it’s “Let’s Make Some Plans.” Not only was there an actual video made, it was covered by the somewhat less obscure Wedding Present during the height of their somewhat less obscureness.
Starting out with near perfect interplay from guitarists Graeme Wilmington & Tom Donnelly, “Let’s Make Some Plans” then gives lead singer Andrew Burnett plenty of space to sarcastically intone “Let’s make some plans cos they can’t go wrong.”
But like most Close Lobsters songs, “Let’s Make Some Plans” isn’t really about the lyrics, but rather more about how the guitars chime away — bringing back that initial twin guitar part after each verse — and then slowly building. At some point, you’ll notice how the organ provides atmosphere and how the tempo picks up building momentum towards the end, which features Burnett chanting over and over again:
Let’s make some plans
Let’s make some plans
Let’s make some plans
Let’s make some plans
Wow, oh wow, oh woooooooow
And you get the impression that it doesn’t matter how many plans they make, they’re all going to go wrong. So maybe “Let’s Make Some Plans” was about the lyrics all along.
Official Video for “Let’s Make Some Plans”