Newcity Music

Reviews, profiles and news about music in Chicago

One Song May Define A Decade, But Not The Band: A Preview of Modern English at Evanston Space

by |

by Bart Lazar
Filed under:

Modern English

Some artists would give their right arm to secure a hit song. Given that level of success, when that happens and one song becomes famous, what becomes of the artist’s body of work? Such is the tale of Modern English.

You know about “I Melt With You.” As a result of college and progressive radio, dance clubs and the advent and power of MTV, not to mention its prominent feature in the “Valley Girl” soundtrack, the song has come to epitomize the eighties and continues to be danced to by multigenerational audiences. Amazingly, co-founder and lead singer Robbie Grey spent just two to three minutes at a flat in London writing the lyrics of what was his and the band’s first verse-chorus song. When he was a young punk, structure was not that important. Grey credits the production of Hugh Jones—who had engineered or produced meaningful albums by The Undertones, Simple Minds and Echo & the Bunnymen—with having him sing softly, almost speaking the words and having him hum in the song’s break, since he had always shouted the songs before. Jones also buffed the band’s sound, adding handclaps, electronic drums and enhancing the keyboard line to create a shimmering, glowing pop song in the musical firmament.

When Modern English played at Space last year, the band performed its second album “After the Snow” in order—except for “I Melt With You,” which was the show-ender. Grey commented essentially that if the band had played “that song,” half of the lot of you would be running out the door—and he might have been right. The chance to freestyle swing or pogo for three minutes or so to an iconic new wave dance song may be enough exuberance for one night. However, while “that song” may be Modern English’s legacy, and alone may be reason to come see the band live, there is a lot more to the band to explore.

Modern English originally was, and still views itself as a punk or post-punk band. Their first album, “Mesh & Lace,” is an aggressive, dark and powerful album with varied influences—particularly Joy Division, Magazine and Wire. Grey spits or shouts out his lyrics, chastising “idle chatter” and punctuating how “exuberance leads to exhaustion” in “Move in Light,” and indicting suburban life in “Black Houses”:

Sunday morning, the sun is shining, peacefully
Ball games in the park, joyfully
The car’s being cleaned again, the grass is mowed
A sudden feeling, the wind is building, the clouds are forming
I tried to move
I tried to think
I tried to live.

Not quite the hearts and rainbows painted by “I Melt With You”!

While I have owned and regularly played the album on the radio, in clubs or at home since 1981, you don’t have to take my word to listen to “Mesh & Lace.” The album has been cited by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem as one of his favorites: “A sneaky secret that everyone writes off, because they just think it’s going to be a ‘Melt With You,’ but it sounds way scarier than any Joy Division record.” You might say that “I Melt With You” is a song that shines light (or Joy Division-lite) on and celebrates the moment—we can share—with people we love.

And yes. Because Modern English does not like to play the same kinds of songs all the time, and has recorded other albums, we are likely to hear some songs that are abrasive or soft, atmospheric or propulsive. The songs are likely to be unfamiliar. But you are likely to find something meaningful from this multifaceted band.

Just remember to save your energy so you can flat-out dance to “that song.” The future is open wide.

Modern English plays at Evanston Space, 1245 Chicago Avenue, Evanston on August 28; $28. Tickets here.