The Hepburns In the Mean Time

2018 release. The Hepburns craft songs at a tangent to real events, always with a view to creating something beautiful and emotionally evocative. This time around the recordings are anchored by brass arrangements galore and Matt Jones's use of a 1960s Italian-made Contessa semi-acoustic guitar that belonged to the group's late drummer, Pat Grover. Musical references include late-'60s to early-'70s easy listening (Alan Hawkshaw, Bert Kaempfert), TV and film themes (Ronnie Hazlehurst, Roy Budd) as interpreted by a late-'80s British guitar-pop band, and Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner" and "Egyptian Reggae". "What it all comes down to is anger. The new Hepburns album is also given to joy, humour, and deep reverence for life's in-between moments-but it's heart is full of rage. Against the prejudice which fostered Brexit and Trump, yes; against the plutocrats pulling the strings, yes; but above all against the fact that, mean as these times are, one day we will have to leave it all behind." -Matt Jones.