Records On Ribs

37 minutes of postmodern pop perfection. England Without Rain bursts with vitality, oozing with surreal mirages and sultry pleasures, yearning for the release of a storm. Joy, sadness and frustration embodied in shimmering guzheng, exuberant synths, thumping Kompakt beats and Fleetwood Mac guitar duels.

This sonic invention is matched by subtle, affective lyrics. There’s a real sense of embodiment here: music, love and memory lingering in bone and muscle. ”The churn at the base of my chest/a body never forgets”, sings Jennings on ‘Love Is A Vortex’; whilst in ‘Atlantic’ “the moments in our throat/became real and made us choke”. There are moments of wry humour too: Glockenspiel captures the obsession required to make a record like this, with Jennings wondering if he’ll “buy a box of wine/and stay in with my glockenspiels?”.

Over the last few years artists such as Hot Chip, WhoMadeWho and Kanye West have shown what electronic pop can do. It’s testament to the brilliance of England Without Rain that we can mention it alongside them. A grand statement, perhaps – but this is a grand record.

Track List

• 1. I Feel Like Making a Record (3.16)
• 2. Atlantic (3.16)
• 3. England Without Rain (3.50)
• 4. The Something Sonata (3.22)
• 5. Glockenspiel (3.47)
• 6. The Wrong Door (3.10)
• 7. Like Neon (2.16)
• 8. Black Eyes (2.35)
• 9. Sky Over Everything (2.08)
• 10. Love Is a Vortex (2.36)
• 11. I Didn’t Realise (3.12)
• 12. Double Helixxx (3.32)

Reviews

does for homemade electro-pop what Heston Blumenthal once did for the menu at a Little Chef off the A303 near Basingstoke: tarts it up good and proper with a combination of modern technological wizardry and impeccable taste...England Without Rain is an album with such a surfeit of ideas and imagination that one almost feels that it's not really fair.

—The Quietus

Quite simply, this is one of the very best netlabel releases I’ve ever heard...fizzles with imagination and lyrical wit. The fact that it’s free and much better than any commercially released pop records of the last 10+ years just makes it all the better, not to mention making a mockery of the entire commercial music industry.

—Fwonk*

a charmer, an object lesson in density and restraint with hundreds of fresh ideas and nuanced recollections, none of them overdone...sparkles with changes and every time you get focussed on one idea, another one sneaks in to delight and surprise...every track is a good track. "England Without Rain" is a completely dudless album...Put this on, quietly, when your clever friend pops round. "This is nice", she'll say. "What is it?" 9/10

—Whisperin' and Hollerin'

The greatest praise that can be given to 'England Without Rain' is that there really is nothing out there quite like it...a unique, yes, leftfield, but also unashamedly bedroom pop album...My friends, it's time to reclaim pop. Let 'England Without Rain' be your first step.

—Contact Music

there isn’t a weak track on the album – each has a distinct theme which fits into a cohesive yet reinventive whole...England Without Rain is a bold statement from a musician so underappreciated it’s frankly quite silly. 8/10

—No Ripchord

England Without Rain is a great record packed with track after track of pop minimalism that shines brighter than a 1000 suns. With an incredible pop sensibility and sense of futurism Talk Less Say More create a synthetic robotic world where pop music is created by machines and perfected by mathematical formulae. It appears to be a cold world but underneath it all is an overwhelming sense of positivity. In a world of overly serious dance music, Talk Less Say More look to the future with a vision of minimalism and fun and create a record that's very good.

—The POP! Stereo

Intelligent use of electronica, impeccable vocal harmonies...An album like this should fly up the charts...100% brilliant pop.

—Net Label Life

An addictively catchy record, it spans hip-hop, indie, pop, electronica and dance whilst refusing to be pigeon holed within any one genre...Thanks then, to Jennings for showing us that pop is categorically not dead. Long live pop.

—AGENT2 Magzine

Talk Less, Say More bring back the playful, fun side of electronica; whereby once unfashionable music is made palatable by an unfailing ear for melody. ‘England Without Rain’ may be directed more towards the nerds who refuse to dance but that doesn’t stop this music being any less enjoyable to hear.

—Leonard's Lair