The new album by Irish pop-rockers Bell X1 highlights the bands enjoyment of deceptively simple melodies and all-out singalong choruses. Bloodless Coup is full of electronic beats, techno melodies, thundering bass lines, and Paul Noonan's lazy yet hauntingly beautiful voice.
The first track, "Hey Anna Lena" starts out with a simple synth drum and an even simpler piano melody courtesy of David Geraghty, resident guitarist/pianist. Noonan's airy but surprisingly sad voice comes in shortly after to create a simple, beautiful opening tune, eventually coupled with a soaring orchestra and an energetic drum track. While the band does stray from this line of thought sometimes, beautifully simple is the best way to describe much of this album. "Velcro" starts out much the same way, alibi at a faster pace.
Noonan's lyrics are actually pretty interesting to listen to. Many frontmen just get up on stage and yell silly things that rhyme, but Noonan actually puts some thought into what he has to say. "Watching a six year old on youtube/playing drums to Billy Jean/this is the stuff that binds us." He cites pop culture, but not the kind that will give him flash-in-the-pan credibility, but the stuff that actually says something about who we have become as a connected people.
Dominic Philips delivers some equally melodic and funky bass lines, the rocker "4 Minute Mile" jumping to mind instantly. His simple lines intertwine effortlessly with the rest of the bands deceptively simple approach. Everything about Bloodless Coup seems simple on first listen, but the more you hear it the more you realize how much effort actually went into making it so. Every individual piece is an exercise in simplicity, but there's so much layered content that you can't help but marvel at the work that went into it.
What is somewhat surprising is that the level of work done on the album only makes all the feelings and emotions the band poured into it that much more potent. Countless rehersals and late night recording sessions don't seem to have dulled the almost painfully emotional edge of these songs. As uplifting as Philips' and Geraghty have tried to make it, Noonan's vocal style brings so much sadness to the table it's almost at the level of despair. While it doesn't ruin the experience - it makes it better, in fact - the feeling of grief is almost tangible.
While it doesn't have some of the hooks of Blue Lights on the Runway - the title track of which is almost a masterpiece - Bloodless Coup definitely shows a band that has matured and mellowed somewhat. In this case, the album is better for it. "Sugar High", "Built to Last", and "Haloumi" are beautiful tracks that show how much thought and preparation went into making the album. It might have parts that are slow or almost dull, but over all Bloodless Coup is an excellent work of sonic art.
