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Celibate RiflesBeyond Respect MGM It's been nearly four years since The Celibate Rifles' last full-length studio offering but they've re-emerged with their fifteenth album and newfound vigour. 'Beyond Respect' opens beautifully with the rocking You Won't Love Me, guitarists Steedman and Morris can still comfortably oscillating between creating melodic and percussive sounds with their stringed instruments. Vocalist Damien Lovelock can still work it: sometimes intense, sometimes casual, but always 100% Lovelock and that's more than enough. At the album's mid-point listeners are greeted by Salute and as with The Rifles second album, the poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti is employed. Although enjoyable, the fact this was done before makes it seem a little old. However, I do applaud the sentiment of this and other political commentary on the album. And for fans who listen all the way to the end and then some, there is a great hidden track - a cover of The Who's My Generation. According to Lovelock this was initially recorded only as a throw-away jam to mark the passing of John Entwistle but turned out too good to ditch. It might seem like a cliche but The Celibate Rifles pull it off with class - it suits them so well. This is a solid album and one that doesn't bend or yield to current trends - it's The Rifles doing their thing. It may not be as groundbreaking as some of their early work, but I don't think anyone expected it to be. Twenty years and fifteen albums later The Celibate Rifles can still turn it on. Bastards.  |
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