Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The glances from strangers, the looks that you cannot decipher but hope perhaps they are of interest, a secret passion or at the very least not ones that are wondering who got you dressed that morning, who are trying to place you into the realms of those they would avoid at a party or some sort of cruel unseen jibe that is locked in their heads till they get to the office. It is in those fleeting glimpses that we are given an insight into how others view us; sometimes it can be the best feeling in the world, at others it can leave you lower than the water table in a Dead Sea spa and resort.

Broken Glances by The Pigeon Detectives carries on the band’s rich tapestry of alluring songs wrapped up in the mystery of life; the attitude of a group who know exactly what they are preparing for their fans but ones who are not adverse to averting the glance off the main subject and giving the person next to them a stare of daring, of passion, of contempt.

The album is relaxed and seemingly informal, the beauty of its laid back but highly developed sound is to be admired but not given a quarter of disrespect, this is a sense of new beginnings for the band, one that comes through in the undercurrent of words and meaningful lyrics; whilst this may be seen as unimportant in some cases, the songs themselves suggest that a new thought is being placed into The Pigeon Detective’s mix and one that should be encouraged wholeheartedly.

In tracks such as Enemy Lines, Lose Control, the heartbreaking but fascinating A Little Bit Alone and Postcards, the band offer more than a glance, it is perhaps a long lingering look at introspection and misplaced loss, a lengthy appraisal of where they have reached after a decade of making music together; Time has a way of beating a drum in which change is possible, that change is to be felt keenly across the board in Broken Glances, a sense of new beginnings in the air but also one that is not broken at all, just one of memory smiling at the good times to come.

Ian D. Hall