The New Fools are not phoning it in

By Henry Lipput

seashells, the excellent new album from The New Fools (Bandcamp), adds trumpets and saxophones to the mix and the result is a hornucopia of sound. It’s their first “full-length” album (being more than the eight songs of previous ones) and their best yet (although I have a very soft spot in my heart for 2020's papillion -- the "lockdown" album [have you heard "D.N.S"?]).

It’s not the first time The New Fools have added horns to their songs. Their previous album, last year’s vanille, had horns especially on “Better Days.” But there’s something different about the band’s sound on the new album. It’s hard to know if the horns were recorded at the same time as the band was playing but the Fools sound better and tighter than ever before.

The band shares duties on creating lyrics and tunes for seashells. For example, bassist Dave Seabright was asked to write a theme song for the band which could be used to open shows. The resulting instrumental “Mr. Grimsdale” opens the album with a burst of sound. It’s both an overture and a statement of intent.

The horns are used again on “Tickets Still Available at The Door,” one of two songs about being in a band and also being a fan. “Tickets” describes a Thursday evening pub gig for a local band and it doesn’t go well: “The guitar’s not quite in tune/The singer comes in too soon/And the drums are too loud for the room/And what’s that buzzing?” But you just know there’s some lonely fan (is it you? it might be me) standing at the back of the room taking it all in and enjoying every minute.

In the fast-moving pop of “Chortle and the Wheelies” lyricist and vocalist Tony Jenkins reminisces about the music he grew up with and thinks about the music of the present. It’s a discussion many of us have had not only with friends but also in our heads on a daily basis. He sings about being late for school so he can hear the rest of his favorite song on the radio or trying to get home in time to watch a favorite TV program after buying a new single. Jenkins wonders about the shelf life of new bands: “I said to Dave/Hey Dave, I was watching Get Back I thought my head was about to explode/And do you think in fifty years people will be listening to Idles and Black Country New Road?”

Although XTC’s “Making Plans For Nigel” was a slap at British Steel, The New Fools’ take on the song, “(Oh yeah) I’m Making Plans for Nigel,” uses it as an opportunity to put it to Nigel Farage, a well-known UK broadcaster, former politician, and former Brexit supporter: “Oh yeah I’m making plans for Nigel/I only want what’s worst for him/Start with a long walk on a short pier/A wicker man to lock him in.” Using some of the lyrics as well as the melody and some of the arrangements of the original song this new version becomes an ear worm (especially if you’re from the UK) to gloat by.

The lost-love treasure that is “Hopelessly Alone” has a wonderful acoustic guitar solo from The Druid and there’s as a lovely flute solo too. Sitting outside during the summer is, for this person, a time to recall the one who got away: “To the girl in a million/The one that got away/And if I hadn’t been stupid/She’d be here today.”