I'm still waiting for that Kate Jackson solo album that was going to be produced by Bernard Butler of Suede. But until that happens -- ahem -- I'm going to content myself with the new reissue of Someone To Drive You Home. The debut from The Long Blondes, reissued this week by Rough Trade Recordings in a 15th annivesary edition, has never sounded better. And this music still inspires and thrills in equal measure. Looking back now, feelings then that The Long Blondes were, in 2006, far better than many were giving them credit for being remain, even here in 2021. I still feel like this was one of the best bands of the era, and this one of the best debut releases.
Opener "Lust in the Movies" roars out of the gate, name-dropping Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karina, and Arlene Dahl to make a chorus. It's a brilliant cut, as much post-punk rage as it is an intellect set loose, and certainly a smarter take on the kind of Class of 1977-revivalism that peers The Libertines championed in the era. That is followed by "Once and Never Again", an empowerment ode that pops with purpose. This one and the more abstract "Giddy Stratospheres" still marvel, the blending of force and riff masterful. In the middle of those is "Only Lovers Left Alive", another gem of desperate yearning that Kate Jackson's vocals elevate to a whole new level. Part Hynde, part Sioux, Jackson anchors this entire record, and gives the musical shapes under her bright lyrics more power than they'd have elsewhere. That first half of Someone To Drive You Home is still so strong that parts of what follows seem somehow not as powerful. Still, "Weekend Without Makeup" and "You Could Have Both" are standouts on a release where nearly every selection feels like a big single. Only "A Knife for the Girls" and "Madame Ray" seem somehow less focused than the fiery numbers prior to these on the release.
If the superb remastering job wasn't enough reason to get you to buy this 15th edition of Someone To Drive You Home, a selection of bonus cuts ought to seal that deal. Era single "Five Ways to End It" / "Fulwood Babylon" offers evidence of growth in the group's approach, letting producer Erol Alkan take these players in less ferocious directions. Elsewhere, "The Whippet Fancier", a B-side from "Once and Never Again", sounds like an edgy theaudience, while "I'm Coping", a B-side from "Giddy Stratospheres" prefigures the more spacious sound and complicated textures of the group's second long-player, Couples. The playful "Last Night on Northgate Street", a flip from the "Weekend Without Makeup" single, is a treasure, especially as it allows Kate Jackson to reveal more shades of her delivery, and additional thrills of her presence as a band leader. The bonus cuts here retain a consistency that serves them well, and nothing feels too different from the charms of Someone To Drive You Home. That record's never sounded better than it sounds now, with production by Steve Mackey (Pulp) seeming more considered now than it might have in 2006. Things are loud, mind you, but smartly proportioned, and rarely has a band had this much to say, this vociferously, and this clearly. And you can dance to it too.
Someone To Drive You Home is being reissued in a 15th anniversary edition this Friday via Rough Trade Records.
[Photo: Rough Trade]