Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The uniqueness of Liverpool as a city within the British Isles never goes unnoticed, the envy in the eyes of those not within passing distance of the mouth of the Mersey is always stark, they envy the creative freedom, they resent the cheerfulness and the ability to grieve, and when it comes to the art of song writing, there are few outside of Liverpool’s arena that can match the ability to catch the moment as well as those who see the Mersey as the free flowing of trade and information.
That the city has its history in the days of the transatlantic seafarer and taken on board by bands and musicians such as The Beatles, Gerry and The Pacemakers, The Real Thing, Space and Pete Wylie in the way they can take a pop ballad or signature tune, a track of infinite meaning, and give it that unique Liverpool edge, that bounce, that sense of fun and love, even in a lyric that has the exact opposite belief.
In the vein of The Beatles early pop dynamic, and even into the 80s when groups such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Icicle Works ruled the roost, Liverpool’s latest exercise in pop beauty, Murmurs, has not only bridged a gap between the 60s heyday and the start of the third decade of the 21st Century, but have shown their own unique capacity in their single Not My Girl.
Energetic, forceful, the sound is unmistakably Liverpool, and leads the listener on a trip where they just don’t hear the song in full flight, they visualise the meaning in a series of acoustic driven images that complement the sheer depth that the song itself announces brightly.
Not My Girl is the wonderful contrast to the days when the radio was full of songs of teenage love, of holding hands, it is the reminder that at times we cannot and will not be drawn into the world of other’s behaviour and that we must cut loose for our own benefit, our own peace of mind.
A truly terrific track, one that suggests simplicity, but is in fact a raging tiger waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting. Don’t whisper the news, instead rejoice loudly that the Murmurs are true and ready to party.
Ian D. Hall