This London-based trio are very literal-minded, it seems: the band name should already attest to that. Then there’s the fact that while there are three people in the band, they’ve gone and named their second album after the Latin for a group of three. With We Have Band, what you see is more often than not what you get. I’m warming to a theme here, so I’ll point out something else: the album opener displays a clear shift in sound for the group, and what do you think they’ve named it? Why, ‘Shift’ of course!
That song sets out ‘Ternion’s’ stall, and is a pretty intense affair, hinting at a more percussion-led sound from the band, and that notion is not something that is in any way dispelled by ‘After All’, one of the songs on the album that’s built around a drum sample. This intensity was always there, of course – it was in plain sight on 2010’s WHB – but it is now even more strongly reflected in the band’s lyrics, as the call-to-arms lead single ‘Where Are Your People?’ shows. It taps into the current mood of society, trying to highlight growing unrest, and does far more han just keep up with the zeitgeist. Its lyrics are quite current, and it’s a damn good song to boot.
As said elsewhere on the album, though, ‘Being Biblical is so dramatic’, and after its relentless opening trio, ‘Ternion’ establishes a more sedate pace; ‘Visionary’ was released as a free download all the way back in October of last year, and works even better in album context, showcasing the more grandiose side of the band, and leading into the anthemic ‘What’s Mine, What’s Yours’ in style. The latter song would work quite well as a single, as it shows off the band’s ability to take risks: it’s ‘How to Make Friends’ writ large, and is in contention for the title of ‘best thing they’ve ever done’.
Granted, We Have Band aren’t ones to shy away from taking a risk or three – ‘Ternion’ is every bit as diverse as its predecessor. In a way, it’s divided into two parts: ‘Shift’ through ‘What’s Mine, What’s Yours’ shows off the more accessible side of the band, and its back half, which begins with the dancefloor-ready ‘Steel in the Groove’ and finishes with the dreamy lullaby that is ‘Pressure On’ (which is intense in its own way, but not in the same sense that, say, ‘Rivers of Blood’ is), displays their more experimental and ambitious side. It says a lot about ‘Ternion’ that it appears to cover just as much ground as ‘WHB’ in less time; We Have Band have never been short of ideas, and in that sense, their two albums aren’t so different after all. In others, ‘Ternion’ is a clear step up – they’ve established themselves as one of the most inventive bands going.
Ternion is out now through Naive Records, and can be streamed here.
Posted by Gareth O’Malley
