We are thin on the ground for dependable, long-running rock groups. An explosion of interest in the big four of the UK scene in the 1990s has led to some career-best albums from these legends of the scene, and those who were influenced or influencers of that sound are back for more, too. Some, like The Charlatans, never truly went away. Interest in this group or that artist will peak and fade as time allows. Time is the only definite. The more a listener goes without fresh material or frequent touring, the more they will crave it when it comes back. Eight years since their last album, and We Are Love, The Charlatans’ fourteenth studio effort taps into that want for more. They are experts at creating solid music. Nothing too moving, but never in the depths of other, lesser bands of the time. The Charlatans are still capable of making a noise worth hearing, even if they are retreading some clunky, neo-psychedelia-paved paths.
We Are Love hits its peak early and is padded out from there. Floaty, light feelings on Kingdom of Ours come through on the predictable but likeable psychedelic tones. Tim Burgess remains a solid lyricist, and the band around him are still good players. That’s all you can really ask of The Charlatans at this stage. Hearing them innovate as they did in the 1990s, while not impossible, would have been a surprise. If anything, the band sounds as though they’re intentionally regressing, stripping away the extra bits and pieces so fans have a chance at connecting with the core values of the band. We Are Love has all the guitar riffs and usual electric and acoustic mixtures, but it’s done with a sense of returning to The Charlatans’ roots. A few flourishes appear on Many a Day a Heartache but these are one-trick instrumentals. A little bit of keyboard flair is not enough to overhaul a song which feels relatively light on heartfelt experiences.
Likeable work the whole way through is what We Are Love offers. It’s middle-of-the-road music and there is always a time and place for that. But to return, eight years on from your last release, and offer neither a collapse in quality or a revitalisation of a new sound, is somewhat disappointing. The Charlatans are still capable, still confident, but of what? Standout track You Can’t Push the River is an extraordinary piece from the band, it comes from out of the blue and holds that emotional quality the band has always been capable of. A swaying, rock and roll style which has been adapted well over the years, a guitar-led thrill which Richard Hawley and his singer-songwriter peers have mastered over the last decade. The Charlatans may well want to push into that style, it certainly works for them when they showcase it here.
When the band finds that sweet spot between reflective tones brought on by recording in Rockfield for the first time in nearly three decades and that stripped-back style, We Are Love comes to life. Salt Water is delightful, if a little too sweet in its intent. It’s a song which, when paired with Out on Our Own, grasps at the very core of what The Charlatans now stand for. They are in that projected, comfortable spot of being a household name but still unclear on where next to take their style. We Are Love highlights a few great spots of what could come from the Burgess-fronted band. An often light but likeable experience, what more could you want from the band at this point? They know what works, and a few risks are taken in the bolder, out-there songs. Not too many, mind, The Charlatans are not reinventing themselves. But in the few moments where they tease a change of tone, they’re at their best.
