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Album review: ‘Burn Down Tomorrow’ the incendiary new release from Department S

By Ruth Rae
Department S

All the best things are worth waiting for - including this fantastic fusion of sounds!

New Wave legends Department S have a long and interesting history – most famous for their 1981 UK hit single ‘Is Vic There?’, they achieved further success on mainland Europe with follow up singles ‘Going Left Right’ and the final single from the original line-up ‘I Want’, on which singer Vaughn Toulouse brilliantly both prophesied and satirised the coming age of greed and rampant capitalism that was the 1980s.

​Since reforming in 2007 they have continually pushed forward with new material, and this latest studio album ‘Burn Down Tomorrow’ showcases them at their very best. The record boasts a rich vein of music which, whilst giving more than a passing nod to their 80s new-wave sound, displays a sonically muscular 21st century take on the classic Department S vibe.

Department S band
Department S - band (L-R Mike, Phil Simon)

Fronted by long standing member, guitarist and chief songwriter Phil Thompson (The Rezillos and occasionally The Vapors), the band also features Mike Lea on bass and Simon ‘Basher’ Bowley (Eddie and the Hot Rods) on drums.

‘Burn Down Tomorrow’ was recorded and produced by Neil Treppas at Artist Sound Studios, and illustrates the high regard in which Department S are still held by their peers, featuring guest appearances from Baz Warne (The Stranglers), Leigh Heggarty (Ruts DC) and Stephen Rice (The Chameleons).

Department-S Phil Thompson
Department S - Phil Thompson

The title track and first single released from the album is a driving, no-nonsense statement of intent described by the band as “A modern take on the classic Department S sound and vibe – ‘Burn Down Tomorrow’ puts current apathetic attitudes to modern world issues under the microscope – with explosive results!” Frontman Phil explains how the song originated; “It came from a chance comment from my daughter about a Christmas advent candle which inspired a lyric expressing exasperation at a number of current events. I hummed the hook in my head, sat down to write and the whole thing fell out in a matter of minutes.” It’s certainly an incendiary start to the album, catchy as hell with an awesome sing along chorus!

Of ‘One By One’ Phil says; “The  song was originally brought to the band at the end of the sessions for the last album (2016’s ‘When All Is Said and All Is Done’), but was a bit too late to make the cut. It’s a real moody new-wave piece with a Magazine-era John McGeogh influenced guitar riff, which I made sure to play on the Yamaha SG for any guitar geeks out there, and a healthy dash of melodrama. It features some great new wave/post punk drumming from Si; a little bit Budgie with a bit of Bruce Smith thrown in for good measure- to my ears, anyway! It has quite a reflective lyric which sets the scene for some of the album’s overarching themes of magic and loss.” The guitar work is enchanting indeed, echoing Phil’s soulful voice.

‘The Resurrection Of The Soldiers’ came to the band after touring – “We covered three countries in a day, starting in Germany, driving through Holland before getting to France. In Holland we stopped at the war cemetery near Arnhem. As we stood looking at the graves and the reading the ages of the young soldiers laid to rest there, one of us mentioned imagining those young men all being alive and chatting together and cracking jokes. That image stuck with me, and I wrote this song when I got home. The Resurrection bit is about just that, imagining them being back to life. But it also references the fact that young people are still being sent to fight and die. Musically, it’s a mad idea of Beatles ‘Ticket To Ride’ drums, Gang Of 4 Andy Gill style guitar and a weird almost church organ keyboard part that I recorded in my back bedroom.” This piece is full of beautiful harmonies, which give a bittersweet twist to its serious subject matter.

Ruts DC Leigh Heggarty
Leigh Heggarty - photo by Ruth Rae

Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC adds his guitar wizardry to `Whistle For The Wind`, a faster song “about the experience of dealing with dementia in a loved one” explains Phil. “When we recorded this we realised that the middle section needed a solo. I’d been chatting to our mate Leigh about the possibility of him making a guest appearance – he’d been given one of those Seasick Steve type cigar box guitars that had been made by Rat Scabies of The Damned, and he used that to put the slide solo on the track. It really captures the essence of the subject matter and the overall feel of the song- so much so that he added some more to the outro, which with the storm sound effects, really nails it.”

The next track was in the pipeline for some time; “We originally started recording shortly before the first lockdown. Simon put the drum track down for a song that we hadn’t even finished writing – ‘Take You To The Dance’, then the world closed for business and neither the song nor the album got finished for a long time. Musically, this track reflects our desire to make an album like the ones we grew up listening to. An interesting postscript to this, which speaks volumes of the long gestation period of this album; when we got the original rough mixes through of this track Si’s reaction was, “I don’t remember playing that!” I love how the band have cleverly woven many different styles of music together in this track, the funky bass, the proggy guitars and the hip hop drumming, all of which you can of course dance to!

Played as an instrumental at gigs before recording, ‘Triumph And Regret’ went through many iterations. Phil elaborates; “Musically, this is another track with a long intro. It reminds me of a very early Joy Division song in places. The riff at the beginning and the end is pure sixties spy theme, continuing a Department S tradition. Lyrically it was inspired by Mercury Rev’s ‘Holes’ – it always struck me as funny that a band would have a lyric about the tribulations of being in a band, and that whatever plans you have turn out not quite the way they should. There’s a crazy, out-there bit at the end about thinking you’re the best thing since sliced bread ‘cos you’re in a band. It references Shelley’s poem ‘Ozymandias’ – things didn’t work out any better for him in the long run either.  As Lemmy once said: “You can’t win ‘em all. Where would you keep ‘em?” It’s a great song; the long intro leads neatly into the verse, before returning in the chorus to glorious effect.

‘Jump In The Serpentine’ was “the last track written for the album. Written and recorded virtually at the same time, this song is the answer to several questions the band posed itself: Can we do a Nile Rogers type punk/funk guitar part? How about a chorus with a Johnny Marr type arpeggio jangle? What if the bass plays a lead line throughout the song that holds it all together? Do you think it needs a driving rock beat? Why can’t the guitar solo be 32 bars long and only have one note? What about some handclaps? Can all these things exist in the same song? We thought the answer to all these questions was a resounding YES, but you can be the judge.” It’s got a joyful, jazzy vibe to my ears, and all of its components swing along together swimmingly.

The heaviest guitar track on the album, ‘Lost Lovers (Of The Cold War)’ “complete with Lizzy-esque dual lead guitar in the intro and a call-to-arms, ‘ave it drum track from Basher. A four to the floor rocker that kicks ass and spits bile. Dedicated to anyone who ever extracted themselves from a dodgy situation and had the gumption to sort themselves out” says Phil. “Everyone over a certain age has some baggage and there’s plenty of people I know who’ve been damaged by the past and come out fighting. This is for you.” It sounds great live too!

Stephen Rice
Stephen Rice - photo by Barb Clifford

Another guest adds his talents to `Take The Money And Run!` – Stephen Rice (The Chameleons) providing the drumming. Phil recalls “Originally written as a Cure/Peter Hook type riff on a bass guitar I had lying around, when we started playing it as a band it grew wings and took on a life of its own. It sets off like a bull out of a gate and doesn’t let up for three and a half minutes. Anthemic chorus backing vocals and a tricky guitar solo which was my attempt to mix Stuart Adamson with Paul Fox and ending up nothing like either.” A great sing-along track – and I do hear Big Country / The Skids in this!

GuilFest - Stranglers Baz Warne
Baz Warne - photo by Ruth Rae

‘So Far Away’ features Baz Warne (The Stranglers). Phil tells us “When we demoed the track we knew it would be a bit special, and to match the reflective nature of the lyric we wanted to evoke the wistful vibe that The Stranglers achieved on their classic song ‘Relentless’. With that in mind, there was only one man to ask to add some ‘mood’ guitar. After hearing the track, Baz immediately agreed and sent something like 10 different guitar parts over the next couple of days. His playing definitely lifted the track even further.” The video below is the single edit- the album contains the 6-minute widescreen epic version with full Baz/Phil guitar wig out!

It may have taken time to come to fruition, but this album is well worth waiting for. It’s complex but not overblown, and delicately produced to bring out the sounds the band were aiming for. The addition of carefully chosen guest musicians adds to its multifaceted beauty. You’ll hear something new with every listen; I agree that Department S have achieved their aim of making a record that you’ll want to play over and over again. Fantastic!

Out on 15th November via Last Night From Glasgow Records, get your copy on vinyl (yellow or ash grey) and CD from HERE

Department S - Burn Down Tomorrow album

Main Photo Credit: RUTH RAE

  1. Burn Down Tomorrow
  2. One By One
  3. The Resurrection Of The Soldiers
  4. Whistle For The Wind
  5. Take You To The Dance
  6. Triumph And Regret
  7. Jump In The Serpentine
  8. Lost Lovers (Of The Cold War)
  9. Take The Money And Run!
  10. So Far Away
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