Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

The Wildhearts

Coupled With

Label: Gut Records Release Date: 29/03/2004

5814
lanky by Nick Lancaster. April 2nd, 2004

Last year's The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed was, it's fair to say, loved and loathed in roughly equal measures. For those who felt short-changed, Coupled With, a collection of recent B-sides along with lost single 'Stormy In The North, Karma In The South', might serve as something of an antidote. It's the stuff that didn't fit in with the sugary, loved-up theme of the album; the stuff with the balls. And there's a lot of it.

So it's business as usual then: big chunky riffs out for the lads, harmonies to die for and choruses which either fill your head, crush your head, or just bury themselves in there somewhere, never to leave. 'Stormy...', 'Move On' and 'Better Than Cable' are vintage Wildhearts rockers, 'Looking For The One' is pure anthemic joy, and 'L.T.D.' might just be the most infectious tune the band have recorded. It's also the most convincing argument yet for breaking Ginger's songwriting monopoly, written as it was by occasional stand-in bassist and full-time Cardiacs nutjob Jon Poole. Also in the should-have-been-a-single category is 'Cheers', a suitably Wildhearts-ised cover of the theme tune from the appropriate sitcom which sounds almost pop-punky enough to be Good Charlotte, albeit without the arse-faced goon.

It's not all perfect, of course - as 'Move On' so poetically puts it, "Nobody ever never got it wrong." '6:30 Onwards' and 'Hit It On The Head' are decidedly weak, and 'Return To Zero' would benefit from at least a hint of melody. It seems churlish, though, to criticise B-sides for being of B-side quality, particularly when there's over an album's worth of classic Wildhearts action.

  • 9
    Nick Lancaster.'s Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

My Chemical Romance

I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love

Mobback
5813
5937

Clor at Brixton The Windmill, Lambeth, Fri 23 Apr

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    news


    The Neptune Music Prize 2016 - Vote Now

  • 103918
  • Takeover


    The Winner Takes It All

  • 50972

    Takeover


    10 Things To Not Expect Your Record Producer To...

  • 93724
  • review


    The Mars Volta - Deloused In The Comatorium

  • 4317

    review


    Sonic Youth - Nurse

  • 6044
  • feature


    New Emo Goth Danger? My Chemical Romance confro...

  • 89578

    feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270
  • news


    Our Independent music filled alternative to New...

  • 104374
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND