Raymond Weir's songs first came to my attention via the Scottish band, Gum, and a little later with The Eisenhowers' debut album 'Almost Half-Undressed'. Whilst stylistically, 'Film Your Own Atrocities' covers similar musical ground to its predecessor, the whole package feels sharper and a natural progression. Raymond's love of the song as an art-form is evident in the opening track, 'Chinese Whispers', which confidently sets the pace with perfectly-judged understatement. Contrary to the American associations of the band's moniker, there's something very British about The Eisenhowers - think Kinks, Squeeze, Costello, Del Amitri as points of reference. I mention these simply to get you in the ball park (or given the point I'm tying to make, maybe that should be ground or stadium). In fact, the briefest audition of these songs should be enough to leave you wondering why The Eisenhower's aren't as well-known as any of the aforementioned artists. In all, twelve musicians are credited in the liner notes, between them covering fourteen songs. Everything is assuredly and skilfully played. The even-tempered arrangements are a perfect foil for the often acerbic, sometimes witty, and always right-on-the-money, lyrics. What little mercy is allowed to drip between biting song-lines is certainly not spared on the listener. At times, this joyous onslaught of musical charm is almost unrelenting. Jab, jab, left hook. Just when you think you've reached the chorus - BANG! - another hook. Want evidence? Play 'After The Tide' followed by the kill-me-again ballad, '1969'.

Even the very few songs which don't grab quite as much (or at least haven't yet) would be highlight tracks on many other an album. Put another way, if there's a contour line which denotes where quality begins, everything here is way above it.

'Aggrodisiac' is as frenetic as its title suggests, whilst 'Janine' carves a simple, catchy melody out of a mid-tempo rock beat. The penultimate track, 'Lighthouse', lifts the pace before a big climax finish with the impressive 'Icarus Succumbs', featuring some evocative cello playing from Christine Hanson.

Go the distance with this album. For every vinegar-soaked bruise, 'Film Your Own Atrocities' will leave you punch-drunk and happy.
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Film Your Own Atrocities is a step forward from the debut, as they refine their take on the classic British pop of bands like Squeeze, XTC and The Kinks.
Frontman/songwriter Raymond Weir shares the sardonic sensibility of his influences, and ‘Reign of the Stupid’ does them proud with its biting Elvis Costello-style lyrics and its easy-on-the-ears Squeeze-style melody. ‘Less Than Nothing’ continues in the same vein, although with strings and more of an XTC influence. The disc's most ambitious track is ‘1969’, in which Weir weaves the awe of the first moon landing together with an indictment of today's mass culture, all in the context of a ‘Hey Nineteen’-style attempted seduction.  At 6+ minutes with strings, choirs and samples of the Apollo 11 astronauts, it runs the risk of overkill, but Weir & Co. manage to pull it off.
There are plenty of other highlights: the Beatlesque piano pop of ‘The Things That Make You Happy’, the lilting, loungy ‘Janine’, and the Ray Davies-inspired ‘Lighthouse’.  By the time things close with the epic, 6:43-length ‘Icaurus Succumbs’, you'll realize that this isn't a run-of-the-mill release; instead it could best be described as a thinking man's power pop album.  Or to be succinct, I like ‘The Ikes’.
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The Eisenhowers made an impressive debut in 2006 with ‘Almost half-undressed’ and now, almost three years later, they have taken the next step in their maturing sound, in which the influences of XTC, Kinks and Elvis Costello are heard.  The sound is richer here, with Weir getting the help of backing vocalists and sharp studio musicians, while the lyrical content has also taken a leap forward.  Include the addition of violins and many instrumental effects and you get the idea.  With 14 tracks, there are plenty of highlights.  ‘Gathering Dust’ resembles an Andy Partridge song with looping melodies and percussive details, while the epic ‘1969’ is a ballad that goes through an astronaut's mind, full of both idealism and narcissism.  The jazzy feel of ‘Janine’ is a great sophisticated pop ballad with little Bowie accents and ‘The Long Way Home’ is my favorite here, with just the right mix of all the influences and melody.  It ends with ‘Icarus Succumbs’ an expansive epic along the lines of latter-era Tears For Fears.  The Eisenhowers will win many friends with this literate and tuneful pop music.
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Back in 2006, I had the pleasure of discovering ‘Almost Half Undressed’, the first record by Scottish act The Eisenhowers.  Touching on some great cornerstones of literate pop - chiefly XTC, Elvis Costello, Squeeze - it simply had to feature in my “best of” list for that year.  Two years later, the follow-up duly arrives and little has changed; the music still revolves around the wordsmithery and vocals of Raymond Weir but now he is assisted by more than ten other musicians.
Although the sound is understandably fuller (with backing singers featured on every other song), Weir remains the real hero being the sole songwriter and his vocals have a melodic and yearning quality in their own right. The bright, strutting pop of ‘Gathering Dust’ is a definite highlight whilst the spirit of Costello is recalled again for undeniably infectious pop nuggets ‘Reign Of The Stupid’ and ‘Less Than Nothing’. There’s no lack of ambition in ideas either.  On the centrepiece track ‘1969′, he contrasts the TV spectacle of the moon landings from that year with today’s love for Z-list celebrities.

‘Being There’ is a beautifully arranged wistful number about a disillusioned millionaire; in fact, it is probably the pick of the album overall.  Elsewhere, ‘Lighthouse’ and the piano-led ‘Janine’ are imaginatively produced.
Weir retains a happy knack for penning sweetly melodic material, coupled with the kind of acerbic lyrics which we’ve come to expect from the finest Scottish songwriters.
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