Reviews
...Erk! Northem Uproar have made a decent album,
NORTHERN UPROAR
Yesterday Tomorrow Today
(Heavenly/All formats)
NORTHERN UPROAR. Such a great
name, with its connotations of
fractious noise, emotional turbulence
and arsy regional pride. And one
which, to be frank, always seemed so
wasted on the lumpen 'new baggy'
powerpop trolls who conceived of it.
But hark! The return of the Mancs is
heralded by (shock!) proper tunes,
(gasp!) newly floppy hair and
(aaargh!)intensive use of skincare
products. No longer hormone-
ravaged, zit-pocked teenage
snotgoblins ripping up the seats at the
back of the school bus, the Uproar
have lived just long enough to
comprehend that nostalgia,
heartbreak and subtlety are more than
just high-scoring Scrabble moves.
Thus a new-found maturity and
soaring confidence oozes from recent
single 'Any Way You Look'and its
close cousin 'A Girll Once Knew', both
polished flashbacks to prime-time
Stone Roses with their chiming peaks
and gushing, rushing gradients.
'What's It Gonna Be' tops off anthemic
tidal-wave guitars with shouty
harmonies while 'Blind'is a fine slice
of low-key heartbroken strummage
and 'Down To Me' rides a brassy neo-
Motown groove with ease.
But the biggest and best pieces the
Uproar have yet delivered are
'Goodbye' and 'More Than This', both
towering, Verve-sized wall-of-sound
epics shot through with lush strings,
grand sentiments and bittersweet
sympathies. This is the mouthy Manc
foursome's former snotty arrogance
taken to classy new extremes, finally
dropping their protective macho
bluster for a bruised, vulnerable, wide-
open majesty.
Sure, there are still flashes of old-
skool Uproar here in 'One Of Those
Things' or 'Blown Away', both splay-
legged yob-rock bellows in that
familiar mid-tempo chugga-chugga
format. Competent enough for any
number of second-division pub bands,
but somewhat wooden and
superfluous here.
So, overall, the second Uproar opus
displays more ripe promise and
tuneful muscularity than we had any
right to expect. Granted, some
pleasingly incendiary attitude has
probably been lost in the maturing
process, replaced by a sheen of
professionalism which sometimes veers
on the generic and anodyne. And yes,
maybe they need to reclaim that
punky energy and combine it with
their new grasp of songcraft.
Alternatively, they could change their
name to Northern Calm, Northern
Gentle or Northern Quite Loud
Sometimes.
Ultimately, though, 'Yesterday Tomorrow
Today ' is still a striking leap
forward... oh bollocks, let's just come
out with it: Northern Uproar have
made a pretty good album. I hereby
tender my resignation. (7)
Stephen Dalton
23 August 1997 New Musical Express-Page 57