Very little time past between me first hearing The Front Bottoms and thinking they were the greatest thing - I heard The Beers on a compilation, then Banquet released their album in UK, got them over and I saw them play three times in a week. It was a whirlwind of excitement and great to watch - in that week they went from being these meek guys playing the UK for the first time, sitting on the floor in an in-store at Banquet, to hosting huge sing-a-longs in east London. I saw them a few more times in the months that followed and continued to have a good time.
Then, nearly as quickly as I became a fan, I drifted away from The Front Bottoms. They lost some of the momentum (or so it felt) and released what I thought was a weak follow-up. Talon of the Hawk is a fine album, but I had such high hopes after the self-titled debut. I'd heard Au Revoir (Adios) for the first time at a gig in Kingston and enjoyed it - the jokes worked well on the first listen. Twin Size Mattress was the single released ahead of the album and the best song on there by a long margin (which didn't help with the high expectations). It's proof they can write a great song, which is something I believed on the first record but I've struggled to feel since.
The rest of the album I find hard work. On the first album, I felt I knew all the songs as individuals and they all had something to separate them from the rest; here I find it hard to remember any of them (other than the two I mentioned) and if I do remember much abut them, it's usually negative (Santa Monica is just terrible). I don't like to be so critical, but I had high hopes that didn't work out.
Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 12
Cost: £11 new
Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston
When: 07/09/13
Colour: Coke
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code
