BellX1: Merciful Hour – Irish indie stalwarts make a most welcome return

BellX1 have been around for more than 25 years. Their debut album, Neither Am I, came out in 2000; their most recent album, Arms, arrived in 2016. Between solo projects from band members Paul Noonan (Printer Clips, Houseplants) and Dave Geraghty (composing for film and television), and then the arrival of the pandemic, Merciful Hour took its time but, as always with this most intriguing group, the wait is worth it.

The creative vibe throughout is playful and adventurous – tracks such as Skipping Without a Rope, Bridge & Tunnel, Something Electric, As the Demons Have Their Say, Whisper in the Night, and The Lobster bounce and sigh in all the right places.

Something Electric is the “summer-is-here” tune, six minutes of daisy-chain reverie (“like the bees from flower to flower”); Whisper in the Night is string-tinged George Michael meets Radiohead (“We can tease it out all night… with your heart on flight mode we can soar,” Noonan sings in a high register that will surely cause palpitations in some fans); The Lobster harks back to the band’s Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club inclinations (“lead the horses from the fire, with blankets over their heads to keep them quiet”) with a multitude of bass, synths and general knees-up carousing.

So it goes for musicians who have never had the urge to stand still yet remain a regular and considerable constant.