CD Review

Listening to the Grand Nationals’ much heralded debut album Kicking The National Habit is an odd experience. The album simultaneously calls forth memories of Sting, modern indie rock, and downbeat Euro-electro, taking the listener on an alternating journey through comforting, yet simultaneously discomfiting territory. Many of the songs have extremely catchy hooks and satisfying rhythmic lines, only to be topped by a voice so discomfortingly like Police-era Sting that one can’t help but wonder in which decade one has found oneself.

For example, album opener “Drink Amongst Yourselves” conjures up sunny days at a Euro-style outdoor café, enjoying a glass of wine or three while watching life pass one by. Indeed, much of the album has a distinctly British air to it. For example, “Talk Amongst Yourselves” (which appears later on the album in an excellent remixed form) and “Litter Bin” conjure up chill afterparties organized by and for English lager lads, off easy after enjoying a night at the club. Perhaps, too, that “English-ness” contributes to hearing in tunes such as “Playing in the Distance” (also served up with a remixed version) and the imaginatively-named “Boner” many of the hallmarks of classic Police-era Sting. On neither would one be surprised to hear an outburst of “Roooxanne.” However, they also retain the sunny-afternoon-without-a-care vibe of some of the other, less Sting-y parts of the album.

Overall, Grand National have made a strong showing with their first album, creating a listenable, nicely balanced work.

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