Unbelievable Truth - Sorrythankyou

Ian Cohen was a guy I knew when I was a teenager.  He worked with my dad, but he played drums with my friends Zach and Bing in their Subhumans inspired band, The Quickies (formerly Pipsqueak).  As I got older, about twenty-one, I reconnected with him and we went out a few times to see bands and talk music.  We went to see The Vulgar Boatmen (more on them in the future) in a small pub in Franklin, Indiana and it was Ian who told me about Unbelievable Truth. 

Unbelievable Truth was formed in 1993 in Oxford, England and released their first album, 1998’s mostly acoustic Almost Here on Virgin.  Soft, sad but deeply melodic, the record had very little success.  They were dropped from Virgin and released 2000’s Sorrythankyou on Shifty Disco.  Still slow and melancholic, but grander in scope, this record really showcased all the different sides of the band.  At times uncomfortably noisy, orchestral and still plenty of acoustic guitars and powerful drumming, the album expands in emotional scope as well as musical.

If you’re an American, there’s a good chance you have never even heard of these guys.  So, I’ll take the low hanging fruit and tell you that the lead singer and guitar player is Andy Yorke, younger brother of Radiohead’s Thom.  Drummer Nigel Powell is a former tech for Radiohead and they all grew up together in Oxford. 

There, now that those little tidbits are out of the way, onto the album.

I’m no expert at analyzing lyrics.  Most pop songs don’t require one.  Andy’s lyrics are approachable but every time I think I know what he’s saying, I’ll think of something else it could mean and I start second guessing myself.  He’s not as abstract as his brother, but he’s just as intelligent. He has lived in Russia for most of his life, studying Russian politics and business and is currently (according to the last Wikipedia note) working on his PhD in Government at the London School of Economics.  I’d guess, both for obvious reasons, and also the way he writes, he reads a lot of Russian literature.  However, there’s very little information on the internet about Andy or the band so it’s hard to gain any context. 

Both of their records are insanely good.  It is really unfortunate they’ve received so little attention, at least stateside.  I started reading the British music press in the late 90s and I vaguely remember seeing some mentions, but never anything here in America.  Maybe they’re too British?  Maybe the lyrics are perfectly placed between the critics’ ability to understand them and their ability to pretend that they understand them?  Maybe they’re not able to separate Andy from his brother?  Maybe it’s irritating to the press that Andy doesn’t need them with his academic career?  I don’t know.

I do know, if you listen to “Shed Your Skin”, you will feel it.  You will have a visceral reaction to it.  “Landslide” and “A Name” are my two other favorites.  These three songs don’t sound alike, but the common thread is Yorke’s emotive voice bringing you along with him as he goes on his own journey. 

Want to discover an older band that you can brag to your hipster friends that you know about and they don’t?  Then when they start digging them, you can pretend that you’re over them.  But secretly, you’ll still be rocking out to “Agony” on cassette as you ride your electric scooter to the coffee shop to get an $18 latte where you tweet about the evils of capitalism. 

Sorrythankyou.

JC