You Charlatans!
The Charlatans U.K.
Simpatico
(Sanctuary)
Finally bored with the stadium rock they’ve been touting since their mid-’90s renaissance, those darling Charlatans overdo a Carribbean fetish.
Despite the ominous, rocksteady pulse of “For Your Entertainment” and lurking “City Of The Dead,” it’s hard to entertain the idea Tim Burgess and co. are islanders toiling in voodoo. No, just as it did during the Madchester years and later Britpop, The Charlatans — can we scrap the U.K. portion yet? — will always be the middle-of-the-pack, Stones-loving blokes riding shotgun. Granted, they pull this urban dub, melodica-obsession bluster off better than youngsters like Hard-Fi, but that won’t make anyone spin “The Architect” over the real rude boy shit, ever.
— Kevin Keegan
Appearing: May 24 at Vic Theatre in Chicago.
