Following 2015's Let's Hear It for the Dogs by three years, the Proclaimers' 11th studio album, Angry Cyclist, manages to take into account the intervening political turmoil of Brexit and Trump while remaining reliably upbeat in tone. Getting right to it with the opening title track, the intro poses Craig Reid's playful observation "For me I feel this era has been kissed...By the aura of an angry cyclist" against arpeggiated acoustic guitar, piano, and wistful strings before it launches into spiky electric guitar chords punctuated by drums. His brother Charlie joins in on their trademark emphatic harmonies, and the rest of the song combines the two palettes as the lyrics note that new energy has been injected into old prejudices. It's the first of many brief, uptempo ditties that form the bedrock of the album, whose longest track is under four minutes. A couple entries, namely the affectionate "Streets of Edinburgh" and the swaying 6/8 slow dance "The Hours Between," are more relaxed but far from sleepers. As usual, the Proclaimers present a mix of style influences, including the countrified "The Battle of the Booze" ("It hits you when you're up/And it kicks you when you're down") and the early R&B-infused "Information." Because of its variety of rhythms, infectious energy, and limited track lengths, Angry Cyclist's 13 tracks go by quickly. That, taken together with lyrics that are both playful and pointed, consistently strong melodies, and exuberant performances make it the type of album that would be fun see performed live in full, and one of their best.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo