Album: Kunstwerk in Spacetime EP
Year: 2014.
Here’s the thing: you don’t get to broken up for two decades, reunite for the inevitable nostalgia-driven shows for the older geezers, and then make new music of any kind of consequence. That’s not how it works: just ask Black Francis.
And sure, Dinosaur Jr has done it, but J. Mascis & Lou Barlow have been working songwriters for that entire time (and let’s face it: Mascis is an all-time great).
But a band that made two albums and an EP and then broke up? No way. Which is why the Close Lobsters 2014 comeback, “Now Time,” was such a pleasant surprise.
Starting off with Graeme Wilmington and Tom Donnelly’s guitars weaving in and out of each other just like in the old days, “Now Time” is everything I could have wanted from a new Close Lobsters song. Naturally, the production is slightly better, and the song length is stretched out — like they’re trying to make up for lost time — though not so much as to be obnoxious, in order to make room for the solos come flying in and out of the mix.
Meanwhile, Andrew Burnett sings:
History is about to be made
Saving up for some better days
History is about to be made
My favorite ever favorite phraseNow now now now
Now now now now
Now now now now
Now now now now
Now now now now
Now now now now
Now now now now
Now now now now
It’s not as transcendent as “In Spite of These Times” or “Knee Trembler,” but had the Close Lobsters released this 1990 — as I suspect they could have easily done — it would have been one of my favorite songs of that year as well.
More please!!
Video for “Now Time”