Cornershop - England Is A Garden ⅘
It's a shame that for the most of the nation Cornershop are those blokes that did ‘Brimful of Asha’ which while being a magnificent pop song is only one tune in a dazzling catalogue of excellent music and ‘England Is A Garden’ joins those ranks easily.Tjinder Singh has always been experimental in his songwriting and production and this new album is no different. Treated vocals on songs like ‘Slingshot’ make it almost impossible to hear what he’s singing whilst a psychedelic swirl of music floats prettily around him while ‘One Uncareful Lady Owner’ goes full on sixties with a rocking sitar blasting it's way throughout.
Interestingly enough, and particularly for these trying political times, ‘England Is A Garden’ is a hugely upbeat and positive record and God knows we need it. In fact single ‘St Marie Under Canon’ is one of the band’s finest singles to date. Huge thumping Roy Orbison drums sliced through with scattershot fills and a big hearty hammond organ warming the soul of the song, it's just lovely.
Also Cornershop haven’t lost any of their political edge, something that’s sorely missing in modern music, there are too many musicians sticking their head in the sand whilst those vocal about the state of the world tend to be loudmouth Brexiteers like Roger Daltrey (Whom Tjinder pleasingly referred to as a “cunt” in a recent interview) so it good to see Singh is still actively political like on songs like ‘Wherever That Wog Army Roam’ which also showcases the frontman’s love of the Trojan reggae label in it's vibe.
‘England Is A Garden’ is a timely reminder of what a great band Cornershop have always been and that Tjinder Singh is one of Britain’s best songwriters who would probably get much more recognition had he been white, a sad indictment on the institutionalised racism inherent in this country. Fortunately, Tjinder Singh has always been able to take the ill will, hateful comments and awful racism and spin it into eye-opening, upbeat music. Positivity from negativity and that’s quite a legacy, long may Cornershop stay open for business.