Dig this big crux: you are The Futureheads, four dudes from Sunderland who happen to be one of the UK’s finest indie bands. You have been riding mighty high since the release of your simply fantastic debut album in late 2004, and damn are you feeling good! That’s not even mentioning the subsequent ego-boost that comes along with releasing a great debut record and then becoming a major standout after being lumped in with numerous samey-sounding dance-rock bands. So, how do you follow the punk rocking, four-part harmonizing, Kate-Bush-covering, razor-sharp-guitar-ing, pop-gem-packed beauty that was The Futureheads? You s l o w.. i. t.. a.. l.. l.... d... o..... w...... n.

One thing that you will certainly notice about the Futureheads’ sophomore record, News & Tributes, is that it takes more time to get through twelve songs than the debut did for fifteen. Now, that doesn’t really matter at all, but if the quick punkers of the first record were all you found appealing in this band, News is not territory that you’ll want to tread. But if you came to The Futureheads either looking for some excellent guitar-based indie rock with an unusual focus on harmony, or not knowing what to expect at all, then even you will be pleasantly surprised. This isn’t that Is This It, Part Two bullshit the Strokes pulled with Room On Fire. News & Tributes is a brand new album, full of original songs that continue to expand on the pop sensibilities that existed in earlier songs, but simply weren’t taken advantage of.

You won’t find as many tight, sharp-edged punk rock songs like “Carnival Kids” or “Man Ray” here, but rather a more expansive and subtle collection of songs that reminds one of London Calling-era Clash or early Blur. The first single, “Skip To The End,” is more “Clampdown” than “Koka Kola,” and believe you me, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with that. Not because “Koka Kola” is a bad song – it’s not – but because it forces to the forefront the fact that this is a much more mature album. This record could have been a dozen more “Koka Kola” punk rock songs, and that probably would have been pretty good. But like I said, this isn’t some Strokes bullshit.

Like the first album, it begins with a fade-in, but rather than the light vocal harmonies and chimes, you hear the pounding of drums, soon pierced by two guitars. Hopefully, that’s the only hint you’ll need to know that News & Tributes is bringing you something different, because there aren’t any more. The first two songs, “Yes/No” and “Cope,” each continue to work within more diminished Wire-like song structures than their previous work while accentuating a new fondness for early Blur. Though they move faster than most Blur songs, the slightly reverb-ed drums and lines like, “He’s the center of attention everywhere he goes / loud noises keep him up – he’s the man that everybody knows” quickly bring to mind a more rock ‘n’ roll “Charmless Man”. “Skip To The End” takes a similar approach, but adds that aforementioned Clash stomp. It is also the first song on the record that really showcases The Futureheads’ new focus on the “pop song,” and because of that, it’s like nothing else the band has done to date. Going through the first album’s songs, you’ll find nothing that moves at a similar speed or pops-and-bursts harmonically the way “Skip To The End” does. The discovery of the musical rest has done wonders for this album–acknowledging that you don’t need to have a guitar sound on every beat of every song is a big part of developing a more diverse range of songs. The more you know!

Surprisingly, though, it’s not those quicker rock songs that make this album great. On the contrary, it’s the songs that you barely heard any of on The Futureheads: the slow songs. These four near-ballads come in twos–“Burnt” and the title track serving as an excellent centerpiece and “Thursday” and “Face” bringing the record to a close–and are easily four of the finest songs of the album. With them comes a newly refined sense of musicality, and a further development of the band’s uncanny ability to harmonize. They use these slower tempos to their advantage and never stops expanding the sound, even within a song. The best part though? They always come back with the big hooks. So you’ll still have the songs stuck in your head an hour later, you just won’t be singing them as fast. “News & Tributes” is the most heartfelt song of the bunch, dedicated to those killed in the Munich Air Disaster of February 1958. The record closes with “Face,” a plea to a woman not to lose faith in her beliefs. One of the more inspirational songs of The Futureheads repertoire, it brings the album to a very positive end, but the final chord leaves you a bit unsettled, thinking that there ought to be more.

As for unfavorable moments, there are hardly any to speak of on this record. “The Return of The Berserker” is the only song that seems to fall totally short, feeling a bit like a tossed-off and less interesting “Man Ray.” To be fair, it does take on the immense task of following “News & Tributes,” so perhaps a better placement on the record could have helped, but I’m not so sure, as all of the other songs between the near-ballads are little masterpieces in their own right. Each could easily be the next single–“Favours for Favours” shines particularly bright, and is one of the best new pop songs I’ve heard in a while. Unfortunately, gone are the moments of call-and-response vocal acrobatics that made songs like “Hounds of Love” and “Danger of The Water” so moving and enjoyable. Overall, though, that’s balanced out by a great improvement of in-song harmonizing. Besides those, an occasional lyrical flatness shows its head in a couple of the songs (“If we have to fall out we should fall out together, because we have to find a shelter / and stay in the shelter / It’s safe in the shelter”–“Fallout”). None of these are so bothersome, however, that they take away from what is an altogether excellent record. When all is said and done, Futureheads is still a big-hook band, and that’s where they always come through.

News & Tributes is not necessarily better than The Futureheads, but don’t be surprised if you find yourself favoring it over the debut. Both are incredibly solid albums, but News shows an awesome amount of growth–the songs have moved into “great pop song” territory, but without abandoning the angularity and almost-lopsided feel that stood out so clearly on the first record. Like the contrast between Weezer’s Blue Album and Pinkerton–or Pavement’s Slanted & Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain–I think that The Futureheads’ first two albums will come to be recognized as records that you’ll always want to listen to, you’ll just leave it up to your mood to decide which one you choose. Hopefully, The Futureheads will keep growing, expanding their sound musically and employing even more of the vocal work that makes them the standout band that they are. And I’ll bet you anything they won’t pull any of that Strokes bullshit.

(NOTE: The US version of News & Tributes includes the between-albums Area EP released in November 2005 and a remix of “Decent Days and Nights”. The EP isn’t bad but the songs come off mostly as b-sides to the first record’s singles and it doesn’t really hint much at what ended up on the album. And the remix is just plain awful.)

-phil