[rating=9.00]
Nearly forty years after their initial incarnation, Squeeze remains the band that just can’t quit. Well, almost. After a series of break-ups and subsequent reunions that waylaid them for nearly a dozen years, founders, composers and chief mainstays Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook still find an ideal combination needed to resurrect their sunny sound and bring the brand back around. And though some may complain that a reconstituted line-up — other than the two principals, this is a wholly new ensemble after all — it recaptures that affable approach that decidedly distinguished them during the anguish agitation of the petulant punk outpour.
So, on to The Knowledge, where it’s clear at the outset that Difford and Tilbrook haven’t lost their ability to craft agile melodies capable of both charming and enticing. That’s immediately evidenced on tracks like “Patchouli” (natch), “Every Story” and “The Ones.” Whereas these two could once be counted on to come up with lyrics that were both deft and daffy, the big change this time around is that the subjects they sing about are considerably deeper and far more circumspect. No musings about “Black Coffee in Bed” or the challenge of “Pulling Mussels from a Shell.” Instead, they delve into topics having to do with mortality, intimacy, the deficiency of effective national health, fake news and the turning tide of life in general. “They can find the peace I’m lacking in this moment/Sit with their eyes slowly closing and then open,” they wax quietly on the sweeping “Departure Lounge,” pondering the possibilities of contentment in one’s later years.
Still, the ably titled The Knowledge isn’t bound to a strictly meditative mode. The funk fuelled “Rough Ride, the cheery “Two Forks,” and the persistent pulse of “Please Be Understanding” and “Albatross” stir the subjects with an upbeat intent. And likewise, while the lyrics resonate with life lessons, the vibe is never pedantic or otherwise obtrusive. Though it’s only their third album of the current millennium, Squeeze’s wry savvy is still in evidence after all.
