Following founding member Brian Crosby’s departure from the fold last year, the fourth album from Kildare act Bell X1 could really be considered the first from Bell X1:1. The good news for fans is that, although the band’s now a three-piece, there’s been no discernable drop in the quality of their sound. If anything, musically they’re in more experimental form than ever, and these ten songs are multi-layered with all sorts of subtle Eno-esque tricks that only become apparent over repeated listens.
However, the sizeable void left by Crosby undoubtedly provoked a crisis of creative confidence. On the dEUS-influenced sixth track, ‘A Better Band’, an angst-ridden Paul Noonan sings: “Is this room getting smaller, or is it just me?/ I pace myself, brace myself, trying not to breathe/ Oh these walls are closing in on me like the Death Star bin/ Oh that’ll learn me, that’ll squeeze out the sin.”
While there are several upbeat numbers, there are almost as many slow and sombre ballads. This is very much an album of (blue) light and dark. Epic synth-driven opener ‘The Ribs Of A Broken Umbrella’ sounds like it could have been recorded in the ‘80s, catchy first cut ‘The Great Defector’ is the greatest song Talking Heads never recorded (Noonan even sounds like David Byrne), and the distorted ‘Breastfed’ is as rocky as anything they’ve done.
On the flipside, ‘Amelia’ is a slow-burning sunset song, ‘Light Catches Your Face’ is an absolutely gorgeous piano and guitar led ballad, and brassy album closer ‘The Curtains Are Twitching’ sounds like a New Orleans funeral.
A frontline warrior in the war against cliché, Noonan’s a seriously clever and colourful lyricist, effortlessly delivering memorable metaphors and sprinkling his verses with pop cultural references (Of Mice And Men, Star Wars, Wily Coyote, ACME, Bambi, etc).
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Bell X1 record without an “arse” reference somewhere, and it comes here on ‘One Stringed Harp’: “You’re just picking your knickers from your arse/ Like you’re playing a one-stringed harp.” Surely that should’ve been a g-stringed harp?
All told, this is a polished, accomplished piece of work from one of Ireland’s most innovative and experimental rock acts – still. Bravo, Bellies!

Key Track: 'A better band'