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Influenced by the sounds of Barry Manillow and The Carpenters may sound odd in this day and age of Indie bands, but this is how Absentee came around. Also being raised on romantic comedies and schooled in failed love and misfiring lust, their second album ‘Victory Shorts’ emerges, bringing with it ditties, well versed in the rigours of romance. Absentee are a London based five piece who play a variety of instruments including your obvious guitars and keyboards but additional lap steel, melodica and glockenspiel which adds a bit of spice to their line up.
Dan Michaelson’s lead vocals are brooding and dramatic but complimented on the opposite end of the scale by Melinda Bronsteins angelic voice. The album runs through songs which mark out a love story - the good, the bad and the ugly. Opening with ‘Shared’ which is the start of a beautiful relationship, as the chorus sees a harmony of “…when I wanna be shared/when I wanna be shared/ I wanna be shared with you you you you you…”. the track has a relaxed and chilled guitar riff that’s heightened towards the end as it builds in intensity and the instrumental layering of glockenspiel and melodica builds on top. This happiness changes as the band burst into ‘Boy, Did She Teach You Nothing’ which has a real sense of indie rock, not unlike bands such as the Pigeon Detectives or The Courteeners. ‘The Nurses Don’t Notice a Thing’ takes us on a walk with someone looking for love in a maternity ward as Michaelson sings “..our eyes meeting as your waters break and I’m born again as him or her..”. The lyrical notion behind this track is random to say the least, especially with his dark vocal tone. However against the chirpy pop beat it all seems perfectly natural to look for love in weird places.
‘Love Has Had its Way With Me’ is a tale of heartache, when love goes wrong. The song sounds like a boozed filled tale of woe as the vocal echoes the misery that he is experiencing. ‘Bitchstealer’ is almost in Nick Cave style with grit and grind, the tracks chirper beats are far from what the lyrics suggest “…she wasn’t yours to take/ so just bring her back/there is always someone who makes you wish/you hadn’t settled down so soon…”
‘We Smash Plates’ is lower tempo and ballad-esque about the lovers arguments involving smashing plates and the consequent makeup around a sea of broken china. ‘That Old Ghost’ closes this album of tales by leaving the listener contemplating the couples enduring qualities of love found the hard way. This track has essence of Johnny Cash throughout as Michaelson sings “I’m not a bird/I’m not a whore/you can’t just clap your hands and make me run away…”.
The album has many musical influences apparent including previously mention Johnny Cash but also the likes of Micah P Hinson, Pavement and even the Velvet Underground. It has a wide variety of tone and melancholy within each track and runs beautifully as a story board of love and heartache. The instrumentation is understated and although minimal in places the effect it has along with the dark lyrics helps it bring this story to life.
