Dentures Out by The Proclaimers.

A few days ago, a friend of mine kindly gifted me the new CD by The Proclaimers. I was pleased about that because the previous album Angry Cyclist was excellent, especially the ballad Streets of Edinburgh and they played a terrific set at Glastonbury in 2019. The new album is called Dentures Out which is a title I don’t particularly like, or the cover art which is a photo of someone’s teeth in a glass of water by a bed covered in a Union Jack. The old lady who has lost her teeth is a metaphor for Great Britain, which seems very apt after recent political events. It is quite gruesome, but displays their humour, of which there is plenty on this album, although it is often dark humour. Like many people I used to associate The Proclaimers with just two songs Letter from America, and I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). Those songs made Craig & Charlie Reid famous, but as I have come to realise there is a lot more to them than that. The other misconception I had was thinking of them as an acoustic folk duo. That might have been partly true early in their career, but I would describe the music on recent albums as that of a rock group, especially on this latest album with James Dean Bradfield of The Manic Street Preachers helping out on guitar. One thing that has remained constant during their long career is the unapologetic insistence on singing in their strong Scots accent. They are very proud of their Scottish roots. 

There are thirteen songs on this latest album, but they are all less than three minutes long. It is a very political album as demonstrated in the opening title track Dentures Out which rails against nostalgia for a past that never existed, and the influence of the media, ’Blame the Jocks and blame the Paddies. Blame the scourge of absent daddies, Proof there is if proof were needed. That the right-wing press succeeded’. This theme is further developed in the second track The World That Was with such dark ironic lines as, ‘There's been no death of satire. There's more, not less, when "thank you NHS" is painted on a spitfire’. Feast Your Eyes by contrast is a ballad with enigmatic lyrics and an epic sound. Praise returns to the guitar sound of the opening tracks with Craig and Charlie saying they don’t want praise from ‘over there’ which might mean England. The Proclaimers are very pro-Scottish independence, and after being dragged into Brexit which they didn’t vote for who can blame them. News To Neitzsche has very witty lyrics which show how well read they are. In the lyrics they question Superman’s sexuality. As you probably know Neitzsche put forward the idea of Übermensch which was translated, probably wrongly into English as Superman. The songs lyrics also contain the expression Chips With Everything which was the title of a play by Arnold Wesker one of the angry young men of English literature in the 1950s. 'The Bossa Nova starts to trend, It's how the world will end' could be a reference to Strictly Come Dancing on the TV which is the modern opium of the people. Things As They Are is scathing of the right-wing press. The newspapers are all losing money, but their billionaire tax dodging owners still print them because people still see the lies of the headlines on the newsstands. Signs of Love is a folky romantic song by way of contrast before Drop Dead Destiny which has an almost punk rock feel to it. The Recent Past is a reflection of the speed of change in the modern world. They mention bands of the 1980s who were once all the rage and are now appearing at Butlins. That hasn’t happened to The Proclaimers thankfully, who have built a loyal and devoted following over the years. I have noticed that on the current tour all the venues are sold out.

Sundays By John Calvin reminisces on childhood memories of Presbyterian Scotland where on Sundays they even tied up the swings in playgrounds because you couldn’t enjoy yourself on the sabbath day, everything was closed. The song ruefully reflects that these days even though the shops are open Sunday has still retained its melancholy atmosphere. I see Draw Another Line as a warning to some politicians that they haven’t got the power that they used to have to force their will on people. Play The Man has a nice country flavoured sound with steel guitar to the fore. Its message seems to be that you should use all means available to achieve your goals. What The Audience Knew brings this excellent album to a fitting finale. It is a song about a Scottish venue where all the greats performed, although sometimes the audience left perplexed because the band didn’t leave second gear as the London show was next. I have enjoyed hearing this album for the past few days. It is difficult to choose a favourite track, but I have shared a video of The World That Was below if you would like to hear it.

The Proclaimers - The World That Was