review - Godley George

Godley George are a two-piece band with heartbreak on their mind. The two piece act from London currently have a selection of six songs available on their Myspace page. The songs may have a sunny sound, but don’t let that fool you. Beneath the folky guitars and whimsical vocals lie less sunny themes of misery and disillusion.

The End of Love:

The six tracks presented here consider the twilight of relationships and the soul searching that follows. The song titles alone will give away this much: “Yesterday We Were in Love”, “Don’t Look At Me Like That” and “The Saddest End” being three such examples.

But even songs with slightly more optimistic titles are filled with sadness: “Now We’re Together” and “I Still Want More” continue the mournful feel introduced in the band’s other songs.

Each song has been beautifully crafted by Ruth Godley and Mike Georgiades (so that explains the band name, then!) to produce intimate thumb sketch of the decline of love. The tunes change, and the words and phrases are different, but the message remains the same: sometimes things just run their course.

The Times They Are A-Changin’:

It’s there in “Now We’re Together” with the line “we loath the life we made together but this is wrong”. It’s also there in “It Must Be” with the observation that “now the times are changing back to times I’ve had before”. And it is there, once more in the opening song “Yesterday We Were in Love”: “now you’re too hard to recognise”.

There is little bitterness or recrimination in these songs. But there does remain conflict and contradiction in the minds of those involved. Disbelief in the impending demise of love permeates the songs. “It Must Be” features the line, “I thought we’d always be this way, together safe from harm”.

Doubt:

At times there is even doubt that breaking up is the right thing to do. “I‘ve been waiting for my love for you to go” sings Ruth Godley in “The Saddest End” while in “Now We’re Together” she offers the suggestion that “now we’re together we could just carry on”. In “Don‘t Look At Me That Way” there is even a desperate sounding plea: “I feel so useless when you’re gone”.

But it is the ultimatum of “if you cannot say forever, I’ll have to say goodbye” (in “It Must Be”) that shows that, maybe, a time has come to part.

After The End:

The final song on the selection currently listed on Myspace, “I Still Want More”, breaks the mould slightly. There is little explicit mention of relationships here. Instead, the song focuses on someone trying to make their own way in the world, presumably after the end of a love affair.

It is self reflecting without being too absorbed: “I always seem to get it wrong and never get it right” sings Mike Georgiades. It’s song at odds with the bitter “I Will Survive” school of thought/denial. There’s no bitterness here, just a desire for a better life - however that might work out.

Sing Something Simple:

Musically, the songs have a beautiful simplicity which brings out the best of the lyrics. Godley George describe themselves as a “New Folk Songwriting Duo”. This doesn’t quite cover it. While there are certainly traces of folk here, there is also a much broader guitar-pop appeal here.

Comparisons could easily be made with bands as old as The Beatles (“It Must Be”) and as recent as Cinerama (“Now We’re Together” and “The Saddest End”) which also features a gorgeous shimmering balalaika-ish sound similar to that found on The Smith’s “Please Please Please Can I Get What I Want”.

The six songs found here are beautiful, poignant meditations on the end of love. The band have much more of where that came from. You never know. Some of it might even be a bit cheerier!

Related links:
Godley George on Myspace