David Gedge and company are going stronger than ever before. Following their own lead from 30 years ago with Hit Parade, the band released two new tracks a month in 2022. Those selections, along with five more, are collected here on 24 Songs. Out via HHBTM Records, the set reveals a youthful stubbornness on the part of Gedge, who didn't sequence these tracks in chronological order. Regardless, the whole thing whirrs and spins with the wonderful spirit of classic Weddoes offerings.
While the textures of "That Would Only Happen in a Movie" are epic, the punchy "Memento Mori" reveals itself as an update on the best late Eighties/early Nineties output of David Gedge. Elsewhere, "We Should Be Together", a number with Louise Wener of Sleeper and her bandmates, is extraordinary. It's got a poignancy and a deftness that make it a real highlight here. "We All Came from the Sea" is a beast of riffs, even as "Don't Give Up Without a Fight" goes for the throat, and earns chills up the spine with its hook and chords.
All throughout 24 Songs one gets a sense that David Gedge is pushing at his standard M.O., even while retaining his one-of-a-kind skill at filling a track with a massive amount of guitar-noise, emotion, and smarts. The lyrics are personal, the peformances vulnerable when they need to be, in Gedge's fashion, but the whole thing is an overwhelming gift, one where the riffs and hooks deliver exactly what we want from The Wedding Present, with a few new flavors. Add in some choice bonus numbers, including a beautiful run at "A Song From Under the Floorboards" by Magazine, and you've got a collection as strong as any of the essential sets offering up by David Gedge and The Wedding Present in decades earlier.
24 Songs by The Wedding Present is out via HHBTM Records.
More details on The Wedding Present via their official site.
[Photo: Jessica McMillan]