First things first, Weird Hill is not a retrospective; it’s hard to imagine any of the three members of Careerist ever owning a 'Best of...' compilation in their lives. Instead we have nine completely new songs, only a handful of which have had their turn on a setlist up until now. A brave move, when your back catalogue is as strong as theirs. 'Negative One' rumbles into life with a disjointed riff, Nathan Rodgers’ bass dealing exclusively in gut rumbling frequencies. ‘Doors’ follows a similar formula, the riff and melody growing more playful as Careerist ease into the record.
The lyrics across Weird Hill often read like abstract contemporary poetry: “Negative One, is eggs rolling over in the pot”. At first glance it feels like a puzzle you can't quite work out, but on closer inspection it feels more irreverent. The meaning is up to you, but to make light of a song like 'Book II' is no easy task.
However you choose to interpret it, Carl Eccles remains an important new voice in Irish music. His ability to meld intimacy with the oblique is a rare talent. Though the songs are often enthralling, lines like, “Henceforth, all my references shall be written out like condolences,” resonate on repeat listens.
Peculiarly, Weird Hill at times sounds as much in debt to British artists as it is American. We hear the subtle influences of The Smiths (‘Weight’), Graham Coxon (‘Doors’) and even Alex Turner's Submarine (the outstanding ‘Party Up’), albeit with a dark shadow looming over them. ‘Book II’ pushes things in a more dangerous direction, capturing the angular energy that made Girl Band's Holding Hands With Jamie such an enthralling listen. It dances around the ring before landing the knock-out blow, “Art is blood and getting fed up”.
There's the incorporation of synths for the first time, giving closer ‘Party Up’ a ‘waltz at the end of the world’ vibe and ‘Idle’ a false sense of warm security. Spaghetti western guitar work drips across the brilliant one-two of ‘Slasher’ and ‘Ring of Hands’, two songs this band could not have written in their old incarnation as Hot Cops.
If there were any improvements to be made, it may have been to include one of their previous singles to bring the song count to ten. Tracks like ‘Decay’, ‘Fallout’ or ‘Scared of Everything’ would be the jewel in most bands’ crown, so it seems a shame to leave them out. Maybe I'm just being greedy...
As a record, Weird Hill does not contain nine perfect songs, but it is close to a perfect album. LP two has big shoes to fill.