Album Review- The Stranglers- Dark Matters (2021)

The Stranglers are a favorite band. I’m not sure where I rank them but I certainly continue to listen. Famously, even outcasts in the outcast world of punk -an early string of great albums was followed by a career of solid singles. When singer Hugh Cornwall left in 1990, one would assume that would have been the end, but the band continued on. The band released a largely unheralded string of albums until receiving acclaim for 2004’s Norfolk Coast album. In 2006, Baz Lahrne took over lead vocals for the Suite XVI album. The possibly now-deleted 16th album was one of my favorites or that year. It really captured the classic Stranglers sound. I think it deserved all the attention and acclaim that came with 2021s Dark Matters. The Stranglers go into 2022 a seemingly different band. Keyboardist Dave Greenfield passed near the end of the recording session. Drummer Jet Black has retired though it sounds like he generally has his eye on things. Even then, Dark Matters didn’t immediately grab me. Now “And if you Should see Dave” was a great tribute but paired with “If Something’s Going to kill me (it must be love” it seemed the album might be too nostalgic. But it was “The Last Men on the Moon” that was the hook. Resembling a mid period classic Stranglers song like “Duchess”, the song is a keyboard workout, not quite punk, but aggressive in its own way. It’s a revelation that it’s not an album to give up on. While there’s not another song quite as strong, the songs hold well together. “This Song” feels like a more (but reassuringly barely more) mature version of the band who recorded Rattus Norvegicus. Ironically, it is Warne’s vocals that feel the closest link to the Spirit of 77. The aforementioned songs leave a pretty high bar for the band, and they don’t always get there. Still, it is worth the time and stands as a worthwhile entry in the career of a legendary band.