London’s favourite Scots Django Django return with a vigorous second album. After initial success, some bands fold and falter with their follow up. One approach is to get it out as quickly as possible while people still remember how good the debut was. Arctic Monkeys did this and it paid off – their second album ‘Favourite New Nightmare’ was released 15 months after ‘Whatever People Say I Am’, That’s What I’m Not.’ Fans and critics agreed it was a classic follow-up. Other bands take years for their follow-up and release something that not only misses the musical mark, but also critically panned too; The Stone Roses took five years between their debut and the aptly titled ‘Second Coming’. Others take a lifetime for that second record; Linda Perhacs took 44 years for hers and it was worth the wait. Django Django only left it three years before returning with their second record and luckily for us they have returned with an album that is, in part, equal to their debut.
While ‘Django Django’ was a sleeper hit, written in frontman David Maclean’s home, there is more pressure on the production of ‘Born under Saturn.’ The title gives his anxieties away; birth under the Saturn moon means death and confronting fears in astrology. This pressure to surpass their debut comes across in the scale of the recordings. It’s a bigger and richer sounding album, but at times this larger sound comes at the expense of the songs. Having said that, the music is positive and bouncy, but the lyrics are just as ironic and scathing about 2015 as they were about 2013.
Opening track ‘Giant’ concerns returning to your home town after a lengthy absence and the problems that can bring – “Looking over the city where you once belong/Shrug your shoulder to the people who have done you wrong”. The beats are big, the harmonies tight and the guitars twang and rumble – not a bad for an opening track! ‘Shake and Tremble’ ramps up the twangy 1950s guitars another notch, the guitar intro sounds like a 2015 version of ‘Rebel Rouser’ and the Peter Gunn theme played at the same time while an indie kid plays around with a theremin. Comeback single ‘First Light’ is one of the albums highlights, from the opening drums and bassline to the earworm-inducing chorus, it begs to be played loud! ‘Pause Repeat’ sounds like a combination of Klaxons and Hot Chip, but at times it sounds a little half-formed and hackneyed at times. On ‘Reflections’ Maclean’s fears are summed up in the lyrics “Stare into a gleaming stone/Trying to seek new life/It glistened once/Now it’s unrefined and cold/Try to live a perfect life/Paint our world in gold/Before we realized we were owned and sold.” The beauty of ‘Reflections’ is that you don’t notice the lyrical tone until the fourth listen because the music is so uplifting.
Sonically, Django Django have gone back to their early loves, Duane Eddy riffs, Beach Boys harmonies, playful early dance beats, glam rock bravado – all wrapped up with an individual sensibility. This approach has paid off as the songs sound fresh, appealing and bouncy. While ‘Born under Saturn’ isn’t a perfect album, it’s catchy and fun, but the lyrics are quite poignant. Overall it just works and with every listen you hear new things and remember others. One thing is for sure Maclean isn’t that comfortable in the spotlight and this comes across in the album’s themes; alienation, the evils of capitalism and acceptance all feature prominently. Let’s hope Saturn has passed for DD III.
[Rating:4]
