After some inspired work on debut album When I Have Fears, post-punk collective The Murder Capital proved they could fill the gap. That gap, a cry for some harsher and fascinating indie rock ruminations, is felt well on their sophomore release, Gigi’s Recovery. It is all to play for with The Murder Capital and their inspired musings, especially after the vapid hole Fontaines D.C. left with the solid-but-forgettable Skinty Fia. They, along with The Murder Capital appear to be leading a new, burning charge of post-punk horrors, and no greater is that shown than in the opening track of Gigi’s Recovery, the haunted and equally charming work on Existence and Crying.
It gives a good perspective of how bold The Murder Capital plan on being. Their shimmering qualities strike through well in that opening track, a seamless blur into Crying thanks to a drum-reliant art-pop piece that slides its tone across great arrangement. Gigi’s Recovery, initially, feels far more refined and consistent than the first album. Return My Head feels a little more indie-oriented than the darker notions previously featured on the album, but it is marked by a great movement through the tracks, blurring them together. From Return to My Head into Ethel, natural progress builds with a great deal of clarity, finely mixed and cutting lyrics of holding on to some form of traditional living. It feels ugly and jagged, Gigi’s Recovery is full of that harshness.
Shifting away from the post-punk traditions and providing a clearer electronic beat gives a contemporary swerve to the likes of The Stars Will Leave Their Stage. There is a lack of reliance on guitar work in the more obvious spots, but these tones are not abandoned. It still strikes through with a fundamental, post-punk clarity but it is done with sparing moments that provide confidence in the lyrical impressions formed by James McGovern. These are lyrics that Nick Cave could adapt to his haunted charms. Where Gigi’s Recovery tanks though is its stretch of Belonging, a very stripped-back track that fumbles the chance to rely on those lyrical strokes with some strange pitches and slower considerations. It is not awful, but a knock to the senses after such a strong introduction to the record. A Thousand Lives picks it up, though, a defiant guitar-led track that knocks back the idea that The Murder Capital has left its roots behind.
Title track Gigi’s Recovery backs that up too. The Murder Capital is still keen to strike through with guitar-heavy tracks, but they allow for other instruments to take centre stage. An incredible drum focus on Gigi’s Recovery marks the end of that track with great quality. What a lament, and what an album too. Expanding well on what their first release achieved, Gigi’s Recovery is a superb album. A quality that elevates The Murder Capital to the highest point of post-punk this side of the decade. Acoustic dud Exist closes the album out, but the bulk of this release from The Murder Capital is a scintillating, argumentative piece of brutal quality. Blunt force brilliance from a band whose lyrical stretches are getting better and better.
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