The View’s Kyle Falconer shows no sign of slowing down as his fourth solo outing, Lovely Night of Terror, arrives this Friday. A handful of these tracks managed to escape his songwriting retreats in Alicante, intensive, week-long stretches where creatives collaborate and perform, offering listeners a voyeuristic glimpse into his world.
There is a strong concept for the album, each track sounding like it comes from a collection of lonely nights, similar to Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’. The opening song, and title track, fell a little short. Only 57 seconds, it builds to something you never get to experience, giving the idea of an album where each track segues into the next, but this isn’t the case.
The album is unintentionally split into two halves, the first being very collaboration-heavy, starting with the unlikely Justin Hawkins from The Darkness, a 2000’s rock band, on ‘Worlds Away’. It quickly establishes a ‘Pop Punk Dread’ rhythm, reaching back to the nostalgia of prime Fall Out Boy, where upbeat guitar-heavy pop music meets deeply emotional lyrics, and this is the case for much of this half of the album. ‘I’m lost,’ with Jamie Webster, ‘the semi-official musician of the Liverpool F.C,’ follows, and is similarly a tune you could dance in a field or cry to (I chose the latter).
In ‘Lady Coachella,’ Kyle Falconer’s collaboration with The Lottery Winners, the songwriting is clearly calculated for maximum catchiness, yet it occasionally lacks deeper resonance. In contrast, ‘Midas Touch’ featuring Peter Doherty, a track famously difficult to coordinate, radiates with the shimmering, sun-drenched atmosphere of its scenic studio retreat. That same ‘Spanish sun’ energy permeates ‘Madness,’ a collaboration with The Zutons’ Dave McCabe, where the warmth of the recording environment feels almost tangible in the music.
Into the more personal side of the album. Falconer’s solo work starts incredibly strong with ‘Trace of Me.’ The imagery, soft vocals, and his Scottish accent glimmering through lend to reinterpreting the soulful music of Paulo Nutini in the best way possible.
Taking a stand against the current social and political system is, sadly, a theme present in so many new releases this year, and Falconer’s take is the track ‘Can’t Swim’. ‘There’s more of us than them’ is a message that needs to be echoed globally. Following, ‘Ego’ takes the sublime theme of turning the dark to light present through the album into the spotlight.
If you listen to one song from this album, let it be ‘Martha’s Imagination’. Telling a story through subtle lyricism, mysterious music, and the little influxes in Falconer’s voice make the track so very catchy and addictive. This half of the album feels unafraid to be itself. Ending with ‘Third Time Lucky’, it’s a softer, slower track, but still has the indie pop spirit of the first half.
‘Lovely Night of Terror’ is an album that is good throughout but shines in its second half. Delving deep into personal stories is always going to be more authentic alone, but that doesn’t mean the lighter tracks at the beginning aren’t worth a groove and still sound healing and important to create for the artist.
