Welcome to the Beautiful South

Hello, I am list finisher #803, and this is one of my three submissions to the user list, this specific one being the end of list pick. Instead of doing a review like I usually would, I will explain why I picked it and why I think it's a worthy addition. Personally I prefer The Beautiful South's follow up album, Choke, but I think this album is the only one in their discography I'd consider essential.

I don't think Welcome to the Beautiful South deserves inclusion because it fills a genre hole, it's sophistipop, jangle pop, and pop rock, all of which were well represented on the original list. I think this album deserves a spot for its content, specifically it's lyrics and how the lyrics interact with the music. This album clearly isn't a comedy album, but it does utilise a lot of humour, dark comedy, and satire, all three things which are strangely lacking in Dimery's list. The lyrics put a comedic yet finger-pointing gloss over uncomfortable subject matter such as manipulation, domestic abuse, and suicide. It's obviously not glorifying these behaviors, and everything on the album is done with a heaping of tongue-in-cheek charm.

More interesting than the lyrics and the humour of the album is the way that it's offset by the style of music. The music here is very bright, pretty and relaxed, but the lyrics are gritty, misanthropic, and in some cases disturbing and cruel. This is something that appears occasionally in a few albums on the main list (I immediately think of 69 Love Songs and the two Belle and Sebastian records) but those examples are fleeting and don't represent their respective albums. Rateyourmusic has recently gained a descriptor tag for this type of music, "lyrical dissonance". I know this style of lyrical/musical counterbalance isn't going to be for everyone, but personally I love it.

I think the aforementioned cruelty of the lyrics is a double edged sword however, it's true that it gives Welcome to the Beautiful South a lot of its identity, but even I find some of the songs to be a little uncomfortable, such as Woman in the Wall. The female vocalist (Briana Corrigan) would leave the band after the third album after calling one of their future songs (36D) misogynistic, this was a catalyst for the band softening their sound but also losing a lot of what made them special to begin with. As I said, double edged sword. Sometimes it hits perfectly, sometimes it just comes across as edgy.

Also, I wasn't thinking of this when I submitted it, but now it's on my mind: I don't think there were any albums that extensively featured male/female duets in the main list? Not that I think that this album is the best for this particular feature, in fact The Beautiful South would improve on this in later albums (as you might be able to tell with Blue is the Colour, also on this user list), but it's something of note. A strange absence given its importance to popular music canon.

Huge gulf between how hard that album cover goes, and how sauceless the music is. Slightly more enjoyable than their other one on here, but I'm not super impressed with them.

Song for anyone is fun, and they have a great sound

Favourite songs: From Under the Covers, Oh Blackpool, Girlfriend, You Keep It All In, Song for Whoever, Woman in the Wall

Least favourite songs: I Love You (But You're Boring)

3/5

I hate The Beautiful South.

Welcome to the Beautiful South opens with “Song for Whoever,” which perfectly sets out what The Beautiful South do. A breezy pop song about a songwriter cynically mining women’s pain for hits. The tune and the lyrics pull in opposite directions, and that tension is the whole point.
Paul Heaton is a genuinely underrated lyricist. Dry, sardonic, very British. The album rewards paying attention to the words, and there’s a lot to admire there.
The problem is the music underneath. It’s thin. Standard pop that doesn’t even fully commit to being great pop, just pleasantly filling space while the lyrics do the heavy lifting. Smooth, but ultimately empty.
Great writing, forgettable music.

Not their best album but still pleasant enough pop rock I’ll take it.