Bell X1’s ‘ARMS’: Texture Communicates Nostalgia

“ARMS,” the latest album of Dublin-based band Bell X1, expresses wistful sentiments through a collection of dreamy if inconsistent melodies and sound effects. In “Take Your Sweet Time,” the band alludes to their nearly two decades of experience, proclaiming, “You haven’t heard it all / Till you’re 40 years old.” The rockers, around their 40s now, are veterans in their field: They are the band with the second most airplay in Ireland after U2. Despite the group’s continued success, much of the music on “ARMS” is inevitably tied to an evocative longing for the past. Their music does not sound like that of ambitious twentysomethings commencing a career; appropriately, it feels distinctly reflective, wise, and self-aware.

This insight is evident on “The Upswing,” a slow ballad that proclaims, “One day we’ll meet trouble halfway.” The powerful revisionism of nostalgia is exhibited in “Fake Memory,” where X1 sing, “Fake memory / Telling me what I want to hear.” The conflicting nature of the reality of the X1’s past and their perception of it affects their outlook on the future. The synths that accompany the phrase are similarly fleeting to the past that they envision abandons the present.

Another engaging lyrical theme of the album is the alarming ability of electronic technology to interrupt X1’s vision of reminiscence. The sixth track, “Sons & Daughters,” deals with modern-day distractions, namely television, and asks what will be made of us in a thousand years. X1 croon, “All my distant sons and daughters / I hope you can forgive yourselves and I hope you forgive me / ... There were too many distractions, too much good TV.” Similarly, an amusingly specific mention of some person “playing Stickman Golf on his phone” occurs in “Bring Me a Fire King.” Bell X1 preach continuously throughout the album that we must live in the present and connect with each other. However, the musical direction is less uniform than the lyrical content.

Many signature elements of X1’s musical style—layered vocals in octaves, general propensity for major key, and bouncy guitar sounds—are present in the majority of the songs. Pace, however, varies dramatically and (at times) awkwardly. The opening track, “Fail Again, Fail Better,” is a fast-paced highlight, the energy of which is not quite emulated in any of the following songs. Its rapid development from a fading intro to a boisterous climax is aided by its brisk beat. It is exactly two-and-a-half minutes in duration. Conversely, “The Upswing” is twice as long, and “Take Your Sweet Time” takes its own advice, clocking in at 7:15. These leisurely tracks, which take minutes to develop, are the stylistic median of the album, as compared to “Fail Again” or “Out of Love.” The latter is the only truly funky track, involving a bluesy piano that emulates the decay of previous feelings. While these outliers are enjoyable, they feel somewhat misplaced within the greater context of “ARMS.”

Nonetheless, the group’s maturity is evident and compensates for other stylistic flaws; when considered as a sum of diverse approaches to communicate an emotion, their nine-song ninth release is 90 percent effective.