Flower power

Press, 8 November 1984, Page 18

Flower power

THE BLUEBELLS “Sisters” (London 820 104-1). ?mThe Bluebells date back to the period of Scottish music which produced bands such as Orange Juice and Altered Images, roughly from ’79 to ’Bl. It is easy to see why the suspicious British press dubbed many of these bands “whimpy” — the raunch quota on the LP is minimal, and the gentle croon of the vocals adds to this ‘lightweight feel. The band have played safe by putting all their singles on side one, and (for credibility’s sake?) giving side two a harder more political feel. “Red Guitars,” “The Patriot Game,” and “South Atlantic Way” deal unconvincingly with socialism, national pride, and the Falklands war, with similar results to the disastrous attempts at social comment on the second ABC LP, the

now-forgotten “Beauty Stab.” The band obviously want to get their message across,. but this tired agit-pop is not going to do it. On side one, however, the, Bluebells abandon their; political conscience with, five blatantly commercial’ but infectious songs, including the C ‘n’ W tinged, English hit, “Young At Heart.” The other songs are all ace summer music — “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” especially, would be irresistable on the car cassette en route to Corsair Bay. Great entertainment, if not the kind of music that is likely to endure past a couple of weeks. Still, their tunefulness and irreverant music should ensure their fair share of hits, and rather the Bluebells for chart immortality than* Pseudo Echo or Spandau!? Ballet. - TONY GREEN.-,