Reverend & The Makers - A French Kiss In The Chaos

Jon McClure is on the ropes, so to speak. The self-proclaimed heavyweight champ of his own ego has taken a fair battering over the last year, ostensibly as something of a backlash against a widely perceived air of self-satisfaction. With A French Kiss In The Chaos, Reverend & The Makers attempt to surpass the boozy eulogies of everyman ‘yoof’ on their debut, The State Of Things. Professor Pickles and Mermaids aspire to reflect an emerging maturity, but the songwriting throughout lacks the insight to really convince. Thankfully, the lairy bravado has subsided, but we’re saddled instead with a record rife with post-recession laments and an acute self-consciousness, and with that, an even grander sense of itself. Despite McClure's ambition for a more artistic endeavour, the Reverend is not so much painting the canvas as he is landing on it with a disquieting thud.