Having finally put their time in the wilderness behind them with the remarkable return to form that was 2004’s ‘Norfolk Coast’, THE STRANGLERS continue to defy the ravages of time with ‘Suite XVI’: a record that again finds them approaching their malevolent best.
Long-serving Hugh Cornwell replacement Paul Roberts (vocals) departed earlier this year, so ‘Suite XVI’ (yes, it IS their 16th studio album) finds The Stranglers slimmed down and stripped back to their fighting weight with guitarist Baz Warne and bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel sharing lead vocals. No disrespect to Roberts, but his presence isn’t hugely missed either, and – while ‘Suite XVI’ is perhaps a more commercial outing than its’ predecessor is some ways – it shows the band have been re-energised by reverting to a tight and well-drilled quartet after all this time.
Typically, they’re revelling in being everyone’s favourite outsiders once again, too. Bruising opener ‘Unbroken’ is sung with enthusiastic menace by Baz Warne and demonstrates that The Meninblack are still very much up for a ruck. They haven’t lost their sardonic sense of humour either, as the chorus shows when Baz and JJ cry “I’ll wear those suspenders if it gets you high/ but don’t tell my Momma or you’ll make her cry.” Very witty.
New single ‘The Spectre Of Love’, meanwhile, makes it clear The Stranglers are again surging with energy and prowling menace. Burnel’s bass is back to its’ twangy, predatory best, Warne stakes his claim as both a fine guitarist and a commendable vocal presence (and not a Cornwell wannabe, refreshingly) and – perhaps best of all – the seam of form keyboard player Dave Greenfield re-discovered on ‘Norfolk Coast’ is maintained as he expresses himself with plenty of his trademark runs throughout the album.
Hearteningly, ‘The Spectre…’ isn’t the only potential single hit single here, either. Indeed, both the manic, but hugely melodic high-octane pop thrills of ‘She’s Slipping Away’ and the classy and deceptively reminiscent ‘Barbara (Shangri-La)’ have ‘airplay’ stamped all over them. ‘Anything Can Happen’, meanwhile, is another contender: this time from the poised, world-weary ‘Always The Sun’ school, with a vocal full of whispered intimidation from JJ and his thoughts apparently directed at the notorious Mr.Bush, if I am rightly interpreting lines like “don’t you know we see right through/ the Global bully known as you.”
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OK, there’s still the odd moment of water-treading, such as the predictable rabble-rousing of ‘See Me Coming’ and the slightly ponderous epic intention of ‘Bless You (Save You, Spare You, Damn You’), but even these are hardly howlers, and besides, when there’s the vintage thuggish aggression of ‘Summat Outanowt’ and the self-explanatory, there-by-the-grace ramalama of ‘A Soldier’s Diary’ still in reserve, who’s complaining really?
Also – unlike ‘Norfolk Coast’s slightly tame finale – this time round The Meninblack have a couple of goodies in reserve as they hit the final strait. Their quirkier desires are serviced well by the hilarious ‘I Hate You’, and while the idea of a Johnny Cash-style country-waltz might sound bizarre, lyrics such as “I hate you now, I always will/ and when you’re dead, I’ll hate you still” are surely tailor-made for JJ and co. With its’ unique undertow of menace, Jet’s solid drumming powering them on and some sterling John Barry-ish guitar from Warne, the chromatic delights of the closing ‘Relentless’ are excellent too and serve notice that over 30 years on, The Stranglers are getting their second wind and sound like remaining a thorn in our side for a good while longer.
The last evil cackle is theirs once again, it seems.
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