A drunk, an atheist and a poet walk into a bar. They’re all the same guy, and there is no punchline. Welcome to Del Amitri!

Anchored by the stereotypically “dour Scot” Justin Currie, Del Amitri has always been an overlooked gem of a band. Actually, perhaps not “overlooked” so much as “quickly dismissed.” It isn’t because the Dels lacked hooks – their catalogue brims with catchy, well-crafted, smart and hummable pop. It’s just that this pop is laced with lyrics that would drive Hello Kitty to drink. Heartbreak, loneliness, loss and resentment all play major roles, only stepping aside for the occasional swipe at God. Hence the Del Amitri gem: Picked up for its pretty shimmer, dropped when the edges draw blood.

One wonders if that’s why the band never scored any lasting chart success – by staying relentlessly bleak, they reduced whole albums to one single note. A Del Amitri release would lure you in with sunny hooks, then frown and spit at you for an hour, dipping behind dark clouds. It’s exhausting, and not for everyone.

Of course, the band wasn’t helped by the fact that their sole U.S. hit was a monster, paired with a tragically goofy video and played more often than Nintendo. Or that critics and hipsters couldn’t stomach such mainstream music – at least not from a band they’d once praised as quirky.

However. Downer moods, MOR sounds and one-hit-wonderment aside, for this reviewer’s money, when Currie (often with writing partner/guitarist Iain Harvie) is at his best, he can hang with Westerberg, Louris or even Finn. If you like your intelligent, sunshiny pop leavened with bile and bite, mope no further than this five-piece from Scotland-by-way-of-the-heartland.

Let’s find ‘em on the jukebox, buy a round of bitters, and see why they deserve a closer look. (more…)