The Bordellos - Nobody's Listening (2023)

An end of year treat. A new collection of found treasure trove items from the Bordellos past

MONOLITH COCKTAIL REVIEW
As Bill Fay said ‘life is people’ and here we have thirteen songs about the ups and downs that make up peoples’ lives. The themes are universal, the culture – survival in a world where the outgoings are more than the income. The highlights are many.
‘Running Back to You’ is a ‘standard-in-waiting’, ready-made for covering. Indeed, it may be that time of the year, but with a few Christmas bells added and a video with white snow parkas (a la East 17) it could be a Christmas smash!
‘Brief Taste’ has all the warped charm of an Eels track, with the refrain ‘Seduction ain’t that much of a hobby when you ain’t got that much of a body.’ Brilliant!
‘Soundtrack to getting your end away’ sounds like New Order jamming with Bob Dylan. Great lyrics and supernatural melodicism. Poetry for the soul!
‘Marianne’ is part Pixies, part The Fall, part Ted Hughes. Wonderful!
‘Tom Waits Blues’ has the melancholy atmosphere of a rainy day spent scouring shops looking for your favourite bands’ new album only to find no one has it in stock! Soaking wet and missed your bus, but there’s always tomorrow!
‘Soft Get Smile’ is a true anthem. A sing-a-long for the disenchanted. Hope among the ruins.
This is another perfect ‘slice of life’ album from The Bordellos. If all they had was a pair of spoons and a cassette-recorder, they would still be driven to record these hazy snapshots of life, in the same way that L S Lowry splashed his canvas with the daily drudgery and drama of the northern working-class. Was anyone paying attention to Mr Lowry at the time? No! But today there are hotels, theatres and tree-lined streets named after him. (Even Bowie was one to acknowledge the match-stalk painters genius titling his best album Low)!
No one (sic) may be listening to The Bordellos today but one day… recognition will be theirs! (Bordellos Night on the X Factor anyone)?

Tracklist:
1.01 - The Bordellos - Nobody's Listening (3:56)
1.02 - The Bordellos - Running Back To You (3:44)
1.03 - The Bordellos - And That's The Funny Part (3:02)
1.04 - The Bordellos - Brief Taste (2:15)
1.05 - The Bordellos - In Another Life (2:41)
1.06 - The Bordellos - So You (2:31)
1.07 - The Bordellos - Gospel According To Julian Cope lo-fi dance mix (2:52)
1.08 - The Bordellos - Soundtrack To Getting Your End Away (3:05)
1.09 - The Bordellos - Marianne (2:48)
1.10 - The Bordellos - Kookies (4:50)
1.11 - The Bordellos - Stone Turns To Stone - Neil Crud Tudno FM Radio Session- (4:15)
1.12 - The Bordellos - Tom Waits Blues (2:29)
1.13 - The Bordellos - Soft Get Smile (2:30)