Album Review: Corridors of Light

When I was a kid Silk Cut was a prominent cigarette brand. Their advertisements appeared in the classier magazines at the hairdresser’s where my mum went every month to get her perm reset under a huge space age hair dryer. They were sparse and sophisticated, depicting nothing but an artfully slashed white cloth, exposing a flash of luxurious purple satin under the wound. There was no text or commentary, just the Surgeon General’s warning at the footer. If you knew, you knew. One of Paul Arden’s finest moments. Now, while I’d never endorse the tobacco industry, I recognise clever art when I see it. Super smooth, classy, subliminal.

So, in the light of that, I expected something equally cool from Silk Cut, the band, and their third album, Corridors of Light. And I think I got it. Tapping into early 90’s Britpop and just a hint of Finn-ess, this album is a luminous celebration of familiar, melodic guitar jangle pop. Following last year’s self-titled effort, the Tāmaki Makaurau quartet have returned with a disc that doesn’t just maintain their high standard, it elevates it with confident, cohesive, emotionally intelligent music. These songs are instantly memorable, radio friendly, adoptable. The guitar work is quirky, riff-rich, hooky, radiant.

As they’ve done on previous records, the band’s songwriters Andrew Thorne and Justin McLean look to the past and draw from a vibrant palette. All over, there are smatterings of 60’s Brit-beat boys like Faces and the Pretty Things; nods to AOR 70’s pop-rock heroes such as Bob Seager; and lashings of 90’s lad rock that remind you of bands like Menswear and Ocean Colour Scene. All carefully distilled through a unique antipodean lens. Which is why these tracks are far from being simply imitations of the past. These are not rinsed or repeated. Whilst they sound familiar, they are clearly still freshly squeezed.

There are 12 equally awesome tracks on this album, and these were the standouts for me.

“Every morning on the radio / With my coffee and toast / I listen to the breakfast show / And pretend I’m the host / Driving you crazy when we need to clear the air / Good morning, good morning to you there.” Opener Good Morning kicks off with strumming, sun-drenched, new dawn optimism, soaked in chiming guitars, refreshing layers of harmony. As What’s the Story, Morning Glory begins with Hello, this album begins in a similar fashion, setting up the tone and vibe for the overall melodic richness. You can’t escape the first addictive hook of the day. It’s as if they are saying “Good morning, it’s time to begin. Feet on the floor, let’s go!” I was half tempted to steal this for my morning alarm call.

Titled like a familiar golden-era aviation industry slogan, Friendly Skies comes across as light and airy, but underlying that is a bittersweet taste, like the acidic bite of a lemon-flavour Air NZ boiled sweet when you were really expecting raspberry. The vocal treatments are lush and vibrant. Much of the ‘heavy lifting’ was done by band member Dave Rhodes, who recorded the bulk of the album live, and mixed and mastered it at his Whitianga studio. Extra details and embellishments came courtesy of the ‘ever-convivial musical oracle’ Wayne Bell (Bell Curve Studios and work with Greg Johnson, The Bads, Splitter, etc.) who tracked some vocals and more guitars. His exhaustive musical knowledge is evident throughout the final production of this disc, and it makes the listen even more enjoyable for it.

As the title suggests, there’s a sense of escapism going on. But from what? “Fly, you’re flying the friendly skies right now / But time will bring you down, down, down.” There’s a tension between optimism, uncertainty and resignation. Outward bravado, inner reluctance and a lack of self-confidence.

I was expected Death of Us to be a typical breakup song but what I got was more sinewy, philosophically cynical, darkly witty, even. There’s a wire-taut guitar line that almost garrotes, yet the melody sucks you into the undertow of its hook. Sharp barbs create extra emotional layering, and a chorus brim full of resignation. “I don’t know why you asked me to play / You’re only satisfied / When you push me away”. The band’s photos show men wishing to portray their worldliness, staunch and defiance. This song betrays that image for a spot of weary vulnerability.

There’s a bold thematic shift with Godlike I which, apparently, criticises the current drone warfare occurring in places like Ukraine. It considers the way drone operators ‘gamify’ their work and seem to be morally detached from the destruction and terror they inflict. The song questions the ethics of creating violence remotely. Equally the music in this song is moody, vocals haunting, lingering like after-smoke. “With a godlike eye / I command the sky / I and I decide / Cold vengeance / I strike with a sigh / Just a breath passing by.” Wow that is cold! The lyrics demand accountability from anonymous distant joystick warriors – “We’re the guns you trust” (they sing). There’s significant blitzkrieg power in the bridge, emphasising the message. This sits next to the political confrontation of Shihad’s FVEY.

Supernovae, I discovered is the plural of a phenomenon we know as a powerful and luminous explosion occurring of a death star. “Stuck it with a pointed pin / The star began collapsing in”. With that astral imagery as its base, you can’t help thinking of the original Starman (Bowie) when listening to this ballad of an imploding relationship: “Was it love or was it fate? / Or just a spark that came too late?” Starting slowly with a simple acoustic refrain, the track slowly builds in lush reverb and abstract audio. The BV’s, a mix of male and female voices, are like a celestial disembodied choir.

“I wrote a popular song / Radio Programmer said it’s too long!” goes the most poignant line on the title track, Corridors of Light. To my ears it’s about remaining true in the face of criticism and social pressures. “Double down in a dead end town / We got familiar faces, familiar sounds / Echoing through the corridors of night / Everyone has opinions on / The way we turn the tables on / And Mrs Brown is well within her rights”. This is the catchiest of all the numbers on offer, with instantly memorable grungy, hypnotic riffs shredding up your ear-space and a beautiful closing solo towards the end this track as it fades into the audio of a train disappearing into the distance. That resonates with the cover photo on a train station and the lines which seem deeper than the upbeats: “The cure for all your aches and chills / Find the footholds, climb the hills / Hold onto the rail when you’re sliding down.” The ‘corridors of light’ being the moments of clarity when we look up to the sky for hope, comfort and answers.

Chasing Highs offers a sweeter, breezy strum-a-long in contrast to the darker chords of the former number. I love the bass notes and the offbeat 80’s electronic drum that randomly punctuates the chorus.

The back story for Heavy Lifting is manifest in the opening lines: “Taking time to heal myself / I’m not terribly patient / I keep on reaching for the highest shelf / I can’t stay stationary.” Taking on a definite Phoenix Foundation feel, it’s the tale of writer Justin McLean’s bad day when he broke his collarbone body surfing. “It’s about trying to do the hard stuff like communicating with someone you care about who’s drifted out into deep water,” he says in his press, “and the sadness and frustration when you realise you’re powerless to reach them. You don’t always win, but you do your best with what you’ve got. Broken arm and all.” A clever piece, despite the odd topic choice. And layered in double meaning about holding on, interfering, or giving in to limitations when the odds are stacked.

Overall, Corridors of Light is supremely confident, full of great hooks, shimmering guitar licks and fiercely melodic. It both familiar and original, a perfect balance for first time listeners and fans alike. Drawing on old friends like Teenage Fanclub, Oasis, Crowded House, Ocean Colour Scene, it’s probably the best Kiwi-Brit-pop I’ve heard for some time, and I love it. On this album, dare I say it, Silk Cut are truly smokin’!