OC Soundtrack alumni Bell X1 is breaking the sound barrier on its way back to the indie scene with its fourth studio album, Blue Lights on the Runway. Chill at times and driving at others, this Irish rock album is folky and full of twanginess and unfiltered lyrics that make it sound like something to break out at a campfire. Upcoming Bell X1 shows will be filled with people dancing and possibly swaying.
The 10-track album opens with “The Ribs of a Broken Umbrella,” a dreamlike number hinting at island beats. The lyrics are what would happen if a tall tale met the falsetto-whine hit that everyone loves to hate, James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful.” It tells the story of a girl the protagonist saw in a picture and has since been dying to meet. “He left a trail of string wherever he went / When he was sleeping he tied it to his toe / if she crossed it, he’d know.”
Even in the presence of the legends the band spins, Bell X1 composes much of Blue Lights on the Runway in the voice of a realist. At times, the band uses less than romantic — even close to lewd — metaphors. “One-stringed Harp” compares the way a certain dull-minded someone goes about picking his “knickers” from his “arse”. Bell X1 uses whatever works to get its point across.
The latest single, “The Great Defector,” is a nervous, awkwardly-worded celebration of sexual tension, beginning with computer-noises and keyboards. The lyrics open with a wonderland of pubescent thought, as vocalist Paul Noonan proclaims, “I am the defector / And you’re the farmer’s daughter / You’ve been teasing us farmboys / ’Til we start talkin’ about those rabbits, George / Oh won’t you tell us about those rabbits, George?” It ends up in a cheesy chorus that wouldn’t make a bad 1960s smash hit.
“Amelia” is a speculative ode of immortalization to “our favorite missing person.” It’s whimsical and dreamy, filled with piano and plenty of percussion. The thoughtful lyrics list off alternate possibilities of Earheart’s fate: “Or maybe they went on to grow oranges and pears / On their own island, Amelia and Fred / She danced for him in evenings as the red sun fell / He’d sit there smiling up at her, thinking this is just swell.” It’s sweet and somewhat all-American sounding, which is peculiar coming from an Irish band.
“Light Catches Your Face” is hymnal at the same time that it sounds like it belongs on a teen-drama soundtrack — in fact, One Tree Hill beat me to this thought. It’s similar to Joseph Arthur’s earlier works, mixed with Noonan’s unique babblings about supermarket items, even Israeli basil.
Blue Lights on the Runway ends with “The Curtains are Twitchin,” a poignant ballad of personification that is truly a testament to the clever creativity of Bell X1. It wraps up the folky, thought-provoking album in a beautiful breakdown that sounds like a high school band warming up. The album builds it up only to tear it down, and intersects genres and manners of speech to create something truly original.
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