The Drink - Capital

Labelled as “mad guitar pop” by the BBC and rightly so, London-based trio The Drink follow up on last year’s well-received debut, Company, with 10 tracks of darkly-laced cynicism.

Set to driving, urgent post-punk guitar and roomy, minimal arrangements, Dearbhla Minogue’s vocal has the distinct ability to jump between the ethereality of Lush’s Miki Berenyi and the snarl of Chastity Belt’s Julia Shapiro at the drop of a hat. The band embody all that is good about C86 as well, and aren’t afraid to lock horns with the fluidity of The Flatmates and the crunch of The Shop Assistants.

They hit the ground with a thump on opener ‘Like a river’, a chiming guitar accompanies Minogue’s saccharine tone and the immediate fluidity and stealth arrangement is veritably instant and likeable.  It sets a template for the rest of the album and what is about to be bestowed upon my ears.

 “I know I love you cause I seen you running wild, little darling don’t cry…” is Minogue’s opening gambit on ‘You won’t come back at all’. Her heightened vocal reminds of female trio, The Wharves and why not because she is a member of them as well!

“If you do well in school, I’ll take ya to the swimming pool” forms the chorus on the wondrous joy of ‘Potter’s grave’.  The guitar jolts back and forward consistently sitting on the bright and mellifluous notes.  Proof that the post punk influence doesn’t always have to sound dour and ponderous.

‘I can’t sleep’ is simply wonderful, a pounding swill of drums: “leave her, there’s nothing to see, there never was” says Minogue and the strength of the music packs a monolithic pouch of power.

‘Capital’ is an album of uplifting music set against some cryptic blackened lyrics.  They shouldn’t really work that well together but once Minogue’s plunges her voice into the breech of her band the outcome is positively cocksure.