Yesterday was a truly wonderful one for new record releases, which I hope I'll be able to do some justice to over the coming days. Not least of these wonderful things is World of Carp, the sparkling new album from south-ish east-ish indie combo Model Village.
This is familiar fare for those of us who have been prone to this kind of stuff for the best part of almost forty years now. The kind of thing that John Peel particularly, made ample space for on his late night shows back in the day next to the more outre. Jaunty, well-scrubbed, purposesful, independent guitar pop, made for, and by those who understand the small joys of these things.
A few pointers. The Housemartins, The Popguns, the way Johnny Marr used to embroider early Smith songs. C-86, Sarah Records, Heavenly Records, Tracy Thorn. The promise of another English spring. Model Village demonstrate again and again their mastery of their chosen form.
World of Carp is not an album that strikes out for fresh, experimental ground, but that's not necessarily either what you want or expect from a record like this. Instead it burrows its way into the essence of this particular lane of music and is consistently inventive melodically and lyrically. I found it very good company.
Model Village strike me as a band who know exactly where they're from and what they wish to be. In the words of their Spotify bio, they're 'purveyors of sophisticated commuter pop.' Like The Sundays before them. Not the most heady of ambitions perhaps, but we're pretty much all obliged to do the nine to five thing to some degree or other and here is a record that allows us to dream at least while we're at it.
The band also has a couple of moments mid-way through the record where they stretch themselves and show their more reflective side on a couple of longer numbers Roles and Sunbur,n that hint at longing for the weekend and the opportunity to step into their own clothes.
We're not particularly given glimpses of the souls and inner burdens of Model Village here, but you wouldn't want to listen to Scott, Leonard and Nick all time. Or at least I don't. Towards the end of the trip I was surprised to find Variety Box reminding me momentarily of Mamas & Papas before the next track clicked back into more conventional indie terrain.
There are ten tracks in all and not a duff one among them. I wonder whether this is an album that will continue to draw me back. Time will tell. It's too early to know at this stage. But the band and their latest are charming and diverting company, the brief encounter on the morning train that you find yourself coming back to many years later and wondering what became of them. Then coming back, to listen to the record again.
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