As unrelated as a British naval hymn and the Ghanaian national soccer team might sound, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists allude to both in the title of their latest release Hearts of Oak. The band appears clad in lime green soccer jerseys on the cover, paying an oblique tribute to the “Hearts of Oak,” a poor Ghanaian team that went on to win international soccer championships. British sailors used to sing how their hearts were as strong as the oak of their ships. The album, paying homage to those who are true of heart, is one of the most sincere rock albums of the past several years.
Confused by all the heady themes being kicked around? Don’t fret. The album doesn’t require much deep thought to enjoy. As catchy as its predecessor, Tyranny of Distance, the guitar hooks assail your brain, refusing to vacate hours after you’ve heard the album. The rhythm is so downright danceable and the music so tight that you could pretend the songs don’t have any lyrics and still be fulfilled. But fans that whip out the liner notes will find that Leo ponders post-Sept. 11 politics, relationships and being an American when we may not be so proud. Sure, lots of acts deal with such serious issues, but Leo’s ability to do this without sounding masturbatory or obnoxious is truly a feat.
The album opens with the haunting “Building Skyscrapers in the Basement.” The song sounds like a traditional Irish ballad about a girl afraid to turn down the lights at night, setting the tone for the rest of the album. The song is haunting and beautiful, touching on harsh realities, like how there isn’t “a place where a little girl might never have to know” because it’s impossible to build skyscrapers in a basement.
“Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone,” the first single off the album, is a tribute to The Specials, a 1980s multiracial ska group. Leo sets up the ska movement as a tension-easing music-political movement. The sound of the song, though, doesn’t resemble ska, and instead follows the catchy, ballady model Leo established on Tyranny of Distance. The track exemplifies the love-hate relationship the listener forms with Leo’s vocals—at times it sounds like he’s annoyingly yodeling, but during the choruses, his building vocals fit perfectly.
The centerpiece of the album is “Ballad of the Sin Eater,” which the band rocked while opening for Blonde Redhead at Black Cat last month. The song tells of travels of an American abroad and comes back to the chorus, “You didn’t think they could hate you, now did you? Ah, but they hate you, and they hate you ‘cause you’re guilty.” The song is heavy on both percussion-especially maracas-and resentment, maybe at U.S. foreign policy, maybe at the fact that Americans are so hated by some abroad, or maybe both.
What conceptually ties the album together is the percussive title track “Hearts of Oak,” which tells the story of a friend of Leo’s, a female musician, and the anger she felt because “the cards are still stacked against her.”
Music so sensitive is surprising on Lookout!, the band’s label, but rumor has it that the label is trying to steer its image away from where every middle schooler gets their punk rock. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists pay tribute to the strong hearts: strong women with hearts of oak that belong on stage, old British sailors with hardened oak hearts, and those soccer champions from Ghana who became leaders of the movement for pan-African unity with their motto, “Never say die.” Leo sings of difficult times that mold tough spirits—”Can you find the heart of oak in you?”
