Dexys Midnight Runners issued three records during the 1980s, each exploring Kevin Rowland’s Irish identity in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. Don’t Stand Me Down could be interpreted as a rock opera, a sonic autobiography about Rowland’s formative experiences in Connaught. The singer released two solo albums, and three group works under the moniker Dexys. LOVE is the first credited to Dexys Midnight Runners since 1985, an apposite gesture since the themes and undertones link back to Don’t Stand Me Down. It would be churlish to consider this a sequel in the way ABC created The Lexicon of Love II, yet it would be wrong not to highlight that Don’t Stand Me Down and LOVE share a poetic voice.
Tellingly, Rowland divides “My Life In England” in two, bookending the project with his insights about his personal milieu. He’s part of an interesting band of songwriters that drew influences from both islands, a tribe that boasts guitarists Bernard Butler and Johnny Marr. Furthering the subtext, producer David Holmes is a Belfast man, a citizen of a city drenched in diversity.
“I’ll Always Love You” acknowledges the trappings of both cultures: Ireland, a nation of passion; England, a country rooted in intuition. “You want me begging on my knees,” he howls, keen to cast off the shackles his background has placed on him. “Strange Feelin’” is impressively British, a laconic keyboard paying homage to such Sunday afternoon ditties as “You’re My Best Friend” and “Let ‘Em In”.
“Once a Man, Twice a Child” sounds more American. A devotee of Northern soul music, Rowland covered the Chuck Wood favourite “Seven Days Too Long” on Dexys Midnight Runners’ debut Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, so the soulful interpolations on “Once a Man, Twice a Child” are muscle memory fulfilled. Singing over a sparse piano backdrop, Rowland elaborates on a cross-generational relationship: “I’m so glad you needed me.”
The inner guilt coloured on “Once a Man, Twice a Child” is a trapping of English and Irish culture, nations in which fathers rarely instilled wisdom in their sons. Nevertheless, Rowland shimmers, much as Chuck Wood did in 1967. The technical alterations to LOVE are subtle; this project is based on honesty, purpose, and truth. “You’re Alright”, cloaked in Carl Wilson’s imprint, is a poppier affair, with the singer following the sincerity of the lyrics and espousing the virtues of kindness above all else in life.
The strangely sultry “I Want to Be Holding You Next Christmas”, admittedly oddly placed in the middle of LOVE, is touched up by samba percussion. Confessional rocker “Old Love” casts a beady eye at the critics and fans who place inordinate value on his age, not timbre. Meanwhile, the yearning “I’ll Always Love You” salutes the many multitudes who bought his singles, anthems and experimental expressions of intent. Besides Holmes, Sean Read, Mike Timothy, and Jim Paterson contribute, each tidying up the sound painting. Apropos of form, their contributions are supplemental, upholding Rowland’s vocal stylings and crusade.
The strength of LOVE lies in “My Life in England, Pt.1” and “My Life in England, Pt.2”. Peering back at Don’t Stand Me Down power ballads “Reminisce Part Two” and “Knowledge of Beauty”, Rowland updates the narrative to showcase an Irish émigré settling in a land that traditionally mocked his class and ethnicity. Vocalizing with every ounce of power, Rowland shouts “that’s my life”, as committed to his melody as Frank Sinatra was on “My Way”. This world is built up on immigration, and humanity benefits from trading cultures. Love is testament to that universal transaction.