On paper, the idea of THE ALARM reforming might have seemed laughable at first. Let's face it: they pretty much represented that whole, big-haired mid-80s arena schtick to those who remember them, and unless you were an ardent fan, the idea of having them back would seem cause for...well, indifference, really.
Mike Peters and co. must have felt a certain amount of trepidation, too, as they returned in an Elvis Costello/ Imposter-style guise as The Poppyfields with the churningly angry single "45RPM" : a song which would staggeringly make the Top 30. The media then latched on to the story and The Alarm finally decided to stand up and be counted.
Recent album "In The Poppyfields" - while no means a classic - nonetheless suggested The Alarm's return was worthwhile. The fire in the belly had been stoked and the album itself, though gauche in places, burned with enough commitment to see it through.
"New Home New Life" was always an obvious contender for the next single. It pretty much charts the band's unlikely reinvention and even opens with Peters crooning: "When no-one knows from where you came, you recreate, begin again", almost as though he can't believe it himself.
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Musically, though, it's hardly a case of pinching yourself to check, as it's fairly typical arena-worrying Alarm: epic, slow-burning and the very essence of 'windswept'. It's also scarily close in execution to "War"-era U2, which is only debatably a good thing.
B-side "Better Scream" is more like it. A rifftastic cover of one of Wah!'s finest moments, it presumably came about following Peters' involvement with Pete Wylie in their Dead Man Walking project, but actually fits Peters' scarred, everyman hero image like a glove and might have been a better prospect as the A-side. I'm sure Wylie's bank manager will appreciate it, whatever.
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