When it comes to harmony rich, densely textured, beautifully orchestrated pop music of a bright, warm, and luminous complexity, then the Beach Boys are arguably at the top of that ‘sunshine pop’ tree. It is a musical character that has never fully bloomed beyond its founders even though many have either tried to fully adopt it (Sagittarius, The Association, The Left Banke) or at least absorb it into their work as an influence (ELO, Teenage Fanclub, The High Llamas). What happens on even fewer occasions is the re-discovering of a Sunshine Pop classic that neither got its deserved amount of recognition in its time nor a gathering momentum of positive re-appraisal in the intervening years. We have that very thing here though, an album displaying a bold ambition and a taste for grand designs, sounding indisputably like it was built by a group of sonic architects who had the musical talents to pull such a bold scheme off effectively. So, prepare yourself to be amazed by Modesty Blaise and their expanded, three-disc, 25^th anniversary edition of 2001 lost golden nugget, ‘Melancholia.’ Now, before we get into the back story though, there is a huge amount of music to be heard here so, should this band be a new name and you are unsure whether to continue, let me briefly describe how this album begins.

The intro is just over a minute of a piece called ‘Chorale,’ which is exactly how it describes, a gentle vocal assemblage of wordless, intoning voices of a solemn persuasion which step back to allow elegant strings admission before rising drums tentatively usher in an explosion of magnificently edifying pop splendour on ‘Carol Mountain.’ Extending to six minutes, this is orchestral, sophisticated, and melodic perfection in song. Deceptively simple and cohesive, it just packs so much into one tune; sumptuous verses and a significant chorus lift, glorious string arrangements, vocal breaks with potent harmonic variations, intervals built for cinematic effect, clearly defined central variations plus flawless opening and closing passages. It is quite simply a modern pop classic in the most relevant, to that term, sense and I go further by stating, if it were delivered from the hand of Brian Wilson, it would ride high as one of his best works. And this is only the beginning because ‘Melancholia’ is a musical opus boasting song suites, motif reprisals and unifying grand concept but what do we know of its creators?

Modesty Blaise rose out of Bristol’s fertile indie‑pop scene having formed in 1993 by singer‑guitarist Jonny Collins and bassist David W. Brown, playing their first gig at The Mauretania in Bristol. A debut single, ‘Christina Terrace,’ came out in 1994 as a limited‑edition 7-inch produced by Edwyn Collins, guaranteeing collectable status by selling out just as local radio and television appearances gave a handy push. Further exposure, like inclusion in several end‑of‑year lists, cemented their name as a hot Bristol proposition. They grew a reputation for lavish, harmony‑rich arrangements influenced by sixties pop classicists and, in terms of access to a deserved mainstream pop audience, supporting Robbie Williams at London’s O2 Arena must have felt like an encouraging step. A Rough Trade compilation appearance, an ITV documentary centring on Jonny Collins and an ambitious BBC Radio session involving seventeen musicians kept the momentum moving. In 2001 with ‘Melancholia,’ they created the kind of work usually decorated with words like ‘masterpiece,’ which must have added to the frustration at its lack of availability in recent years. “For quite a while, people have been asking us why our biggest album wasn’t available to stream” recalled Jonny Collins. “We decided that, if we were going to do it, we’d do it properly. The remastering process was really interesting. The point was to reveal extra detail within the songs.”

Acknowledging their music was of a far more layered grain, Jonny added that “it’s been a longstanding thing within Modesty Blaise that, not only do we throw the kitchen sink in, we break in next door, rip out their sink, and throw that in too. But modern mastering has brought more clarity; we’re really happy with it.” They have certainly taken advantage of the space offered by three discs, especially on the ‘[de] Construction’ set that pulls out isolated instruments and vocal parts from the mixing desk, a process that few records truly warrant but there is so much buried audio treasure here the deep dive is, for once, a justified and rewarding indulgence. The third disc presents different single mixes and versions which again, given the progressions on an album essentially built around the pop song format, is another invaluable addition. There are bound to be times when the zippier versions heard here are all that is required.

Considering the self-confessed inclination to develop indefinitely in the studio, it is still noticeable how totally devoid of filler this album is. Even the tracks where three songs are built into one do not feel over long, despite looking like a marathon on paper. One of these is the suite ‘Old Woman – My Life Before You Came – Swivel Chair’ which shows the same capacity for realizing a vision as McCartney on ‘Abbey Road’s’ side two. There are delightful prog touches too, nothing cumbersome, more like the flighty current of Caravan as washes of keys and mellotron sound enhance the conclusion. ‘Even In My Darkest Hour’ also has a triumphant coda, where any one of the swirling keyboards, the ghostly theremin noise or the homely horn refrain would have been enough to make it a beguiling ending, but they throw all three in anyway. Our epic journey approaches its close on the thirteen-plus minute ‘The Love Suite,’ a bold creation that once again has a bit of everything but, crucially, it is everything you want. Brass, massive choruses, guitars freaking out, a united vision and an ecstatic shout to the top, it all serves to leave us totally overwhelmed by our stimulated senses, delighted, delirious and hungry for more in equal measure. Music this fully loaded with ideas doesn’t stay under the radar indefinitely, and with ‘Melancholia,’ Modesty Blaise look ready to claim the attention they have long deserved.

Danny Neill

Find out more about Modesty Blaise and how to purchase ‘Melancholia’ here: https://modestyblaiseuk.bandcamp.com/