CLIENT COMMAND ALBUM OUT OF LINE, SSC, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: MARCH 6, 2009 REVIEW: FEBRUARY 26, 2009

“Command” is, scarily, the fourth full length album from Client. I say scarily because this impressive back catalogue has come in the space of just four and a half years! It was recorded, mixed and produced by Joe Wilson (Sneaker Pimps) and Youth (Killing Joke, Paul McCartney and others) who also plays bass on selected tracks. The music this time is said to be best summed up by the phrase "strictly dirty”. Well, let's see, shall we!

“Your Love Is Like Petrol” is great song title, and great song - at the time of writing I have no idea whether this will be turned into a single, but it damn well should be, yes indeed. It's a nasty, cool mother of a track, and a template for what pop music should now sound like in 2009. As for the rest of the tracks; “Can You Feel”, the first single is likeable, if a little too polished, “Blackheart” races along like a sleek motor zipping through the city streets at 200mph at night, lights bouncing off the shiny chrome,  and “Son of a Gun” sounds like a badly wired fairground ride – all interesting in their own right and they show variety across the set.

“Ghosts” and “Satisfaction”, are both highlights of the album, and represent yet more pieces of genius. “Ghosts” has some real edginess in the backing, with simple piano stabs layering on a high synth line to up the tempo (and tension!). Lovely music and orchestration. “Satisfaction” is a spoken verse sung chorus affair, with some great screaming effects in the background, the main rhythm lines sounding like they had been pummelled out of an old Spectrum computer.

To sum up; Client seem to have beefed up there sound somewhat on this latest release, possibly down to the “Youth effect”, “the Sneaker Pimps” effect, or more likely through the ever growing confidence of what is now a well-established, well-liked, and yet still edgy, trio. Though the backing tracks are getting increasingly more powerful, confidence is the key, and the energy pings around these tracks like a laser. Awesome, and scarily so!  

MIKE WHYTE