The Adventures - Once More With Feeling

In 1984, after originally working together in the punk / new wave band Tango Brigade (previously The Starjets), lead vocalist Terry Sharpe and guitarist Pat Gribben formed The Adventures with Eileen Gribben (Pat’s wife), Gerard Murphy, Tony Ayre and Paul Crowder.   With a few membership changes along the way, the next nine years found the Belfast band releasing four albums before breaking up in 1993.  These releases contained numerous UK hits, including “Broken Land” which reached number twenty there and ninety-five in the States, where it was their only song to hit the charts.  In the ensuing years they reformed a few times for live performances and now, over thirty years after their last album, they’ve released album number five, Once More With Feeling.  The band had contemplated making another album for a while, but when covid and the lock-downs came along, Pat spent more time in his home studio, and with all the free time, he was able to focus on songwriting.  He ended up writing all the songs himself, with the exception of “L.U.C.Y.”, which he interestingly co-wrote with Cathy Dennis during a session where they were attempting to write a song for S Club 7.  With Mark Tolman now on drums, all of the remaining instruments here were handled by Pat, with Terry and Eileen contributing all of the vocals (Tony Ayre, who was the only other member in the band on their last album, passed away in 2009),  They’ve done a great job here of capturing a lot of what made the band so special all those years ago, but also taking their sound into the modern era.   A lot of the album is also more upbeat than the earlier ones, something that is evident right out the gate with the infectious and bouncy pop of opening track “My Imaginary Girlfriend”, which has some great sprightly keyboards that at times are a little reminiscent of A-Ha.  “With The Cats” is up next and has an Eighties era MTV sound crossed with Beach Boys summertime pop.  Driven by some gorgeous acoustic guitar, “When The Sun Goes Down” is an enchanting, bouncy jaunt followed by another upbeat pop gem “Love Talk”.  The aforementioned “L.U.C.Y.” marks the first time Eileen Gribben has handled lead vocals on an Adventures album (she was the lead vocalist on "Currogh Of Kildare", a bonus track on a single in 1988), and is a delicate and absolutely gorgeous ballad recorded in memory of Pat and Eileen’s niece, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2021.  While still full of hooks, “Down By The Water” is a little darker and edgier like a poppier Neil Young with a little bit of The Beatles.  With the help of Conor and Paul McGuinness (2 extremely talented local singer / musicians from Belfast per the liner notes) on backing vocals, “Song For You” is a great acoustic tune that has a strong Simon and Garfunkel feel.  The upbeat pop of “I Still Dream Of You” adds a bit of a rootsy element to the mix, while “The Hanging Tree” is a fun tune with a rockabilly beat that definitely stands out from the rest of the album.  “To Whom It Concerns” is a stunning, sweeping Lennon-esque song that closes the album perfectly.  Once More With Feeling is a most welcome addition to The Adventures discography and highly recommended to fans of their earlier work as well as anyone that has never heard of them before.  Let’s hope this is a career resurgence and not a one off.

(Cherry Red Records)