This first full-length release from Liverpool's Cecil doesn't make it abundantly clear why the band failed to accompany labelmates such as Radiohead, Supergrass, and Mansun into music fans' vernacular. After three years with Parlophone, Cecil had successfully been nurtured from energetic teenage noise-makers to marketable talent, and despite the backing of a promotional team renown in British alternative music, the release upon which it all hinged only made minimal impact. As critics would argue, success, or lack thereof, does not detract from quality, and it's with the 11 tracks on Subtitles that the band can gain pride in having a release that is likely to mature with age. Vocalist and lyricist Ste Williams is the typical frontman who hurls a Scouse sneer over a tirade of throttled guitars and careening basslines and a more delicate approach on intercut acoustic themes. Such energetic efforts as "The Most Tiring Day," "Hostage in a Frock," and "Love Tooth 14" would be considered loud if it weren't for crisp, sleek production but at least consistency is observed. Lyrically however each song is an enigma, and a closer inspection would leave you none the wiser. To quote "Hostage in a Frock," "We'll travel on the dinted moth/To see the statue of the frock/And we will hang with a sloth onto no care." If the objective is to avoid simplicity in favor of listener intrigue, it certainly works. It won't take more than a couple of listens to become familiar with a lot of the lyrics though, and structurally the album is as solid as its driving rhythm section. Likening the band to Island's Puressence or London's Marion would merely be an acknowledgment that Cecil are the finished article and worthy of much more than the outfit that were frozen out by a very competitive scene.
© Owen Guthrie-Jones /TiVo