Tags
3rd Album, Anna, Indie, Lose Control, Manchester, The Couteeners
7/10
Stand-out tracks: ‘Are You In Love With A Notion?’, ‘Marquee’ and ‘When You Want Something You Can’t Have’
The Courteeners’ third album to date, ‘Anna’, won’t disappoint fans, but nor will it pull in much of a new audience. Whilst their signature big, anthemic choruses and catchy guitar riffs are still going strong, we’ve heard it all before – there’s nothing particularly new or revolutionary about ‘Anna’. That said, it still has everything we would expect from a good, solid indie record.
Opening track ‘Are You In Love With A Notion?’ is brilliant. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely a case of start as you mean to go on. Upon first listen, the rest of the songs all blur into one a bit, even current single ‘Lose Control’. But persevere; after a few more listens, the individual merits of a few great tracks start to shine through. ‘Marquee’, for instance, is a beautiful, self-indulgent kind of song – full of violins and pensive lyrics. The album closer ‘Here Come The Young Men’, on the other hand, has the kind of sing-along qualities that have prompted critics to call The Courteeners “a band for football fans” over the years. Whether you agree or disagree with that statement, it’s easy to picture a large crowd chanting the chorus to this particular tune.
