[review 2008: half-measures and quiet victories]

Sophomore albums are always tough, but even more so when they turn out to be your last. That’s what happened to the Long Blondes, who were in the middle of touring Couples in early June (not long after the Toronto gig in May I went to) when lead guitarist and songwriter Dorian Cox suffered a stroke. Several months later, it became clear that while Cox was reasonably functional, he wasn’t as sure about his ability to play the guitar in the future. The band parted ways, unwilling or unable to continue without him.

Couples, then, has the unfortunate responsibility of serving as the Long Blondes’ curtain call, when it seems so clearly to show a band still in the process of figuring out its next move. Anyone hoping for a retread or revamp of 2006’s Someone to Drive You Home was sorely disappointed; Couples is less straightforward, less danceworthy, and more varied. Aspects clearly pointed to more ambitious goals; “Century” is one of those songs that doesn’t quite incite a dance riot, but is full of potential. You can almost hear the song it should’ve been in your head, as a sort of commentary track to the original. It’s these moments that show the promise the Long Blondes had, and these moments that most obviously mark Couples as a transition album—but to what, we’ll never know.

The album was actually poorer for the tracks that most resembled its predecessor; “Guilt” and “Here Come the Serious Bit” are good tracks, but in the shadow of “Giddy Stratospheres” or “Separated By Motorways” or any of a half-dozen other choices, they come off as somewhat less enthused cover versions. It’s when the band steps away from their original material, like the shimmering almost-disco-pop of “Century” or the noir-thriller aesthetic of “Round the Hairpin,” that the Blondes come closest to forging a viable future sound for themselves. Some of these experiments aren’t entirely successful, but at least the band gave it the old college try. More than that, they make a convincing case that the easy pleasures of their old dancefloor-friendly guitar pop weren’t worth hanging onto for a whole second album.

With word that Cox is undergoing physiotherapy in the hopes of picking up the guitar again, the more romantic amongst us may hope that the Long Blondes reform sometime in the near future. But honestly, I’m left to wonder if perhaps that time has passed. Couples documents the process of the band attempting to evolve beyond their origins—here seems like a good time to trot out the ol’ presser factoid about the two couples in the band having broken up just before the recording sessions—but with their development halted in such a sudden and complete manner, it just doesn’t seem worth having the Blondes reform under the same aegis. We don’t need a reunion tour for a band that put out two albums—and I wonder if Kate Jackson, Dorian Cox and company would want that either. So good night, Long Blondes. You will be missed.