Revival

Scuzz Sundays: The Caesars – ‘Jerk It Out’

April 24, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Love for The Streets’ (LP) (Released on April 22nd, 2002) (via Virgin Records/Dolores)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for us to pay a visit to one of the old ghosts of Pop-Punk’s past with a new addition to our ‘Scuzz Sundays’ library, given that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Love For The Streets’ was released on April 22nd, 2002 via Virgin/Dolores as the third full-length LP effort for the Indie Rock band The Caesars, as they are most widely known, who were formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1995. Therefore, as of this week, the record has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. It makes for a really great opportunity for us to remember ‘Jerk It Out’ – the band’s most well-known track – that was taken as a single from the album. Following one re-issue in 2003 and another, more wider, re-release in 2005 – ‘Jerk It Out’ became an international success as it reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart and #70 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is definitely one of those tracks that you have heard many times before, but you most probably have not heard it in ages or did not know who performed it because, admittedly, the group did not have much more impact on popular culture outside of their domestic market in the years after. The Caesars are also known by two other names, as they were originally known as Caesars Palace natively. However, they changed their name to The Caesars to avoid confusion with the famous Las Vegas-based hotel of the same name and, likely due to copyright, they are known as Twelve Caesars in Scandinavia. My head is spinning with confusion, so please do me a merciful favour and press ‘Play’ on the ‘Jerk It Out’ music video below.

‘Love For The Streets’ has actually been certified as Gold in sales in their native country of Sweden, and you may also remember their hit ‘Jerk It Out’ from a global advertising campaign for the old iPod models and the, now rather obsolete, iPad Mini products designed by the corporate tech giant Apple. An easy track to write about due to it being so straightforward, ‘Jerk It Out’ dives headfirst into the 00’s Garage-Rock revival trends with an outrageously catchy Keyboard/Synth hook that twists and turns ferociously, as the sharp yet undemanding Drums kick in and the spaced-out effects on the keyboard gives the track the swirling, dizzying vibe that has made it feel so memorable. The lyrics are incredibly laid back and clear cut, as hooks like “Wind me up, put me down, start me off and watch me go/I’ll be running circles around you sooner than you know” and “Because it’s easy once you know how it’s done/You can’t stop now, it’s already begun” convey the themes of perseverance and finding reward out of taking risks very evidently. A distorted organ sample and a gentle guitar solo, towards the end of the track, keep the mid-60’s Garage Pop quality from becoming too predictable, and the catchy lyrics are married to the unique Synth style fairly well. That is all there really is to write about the track because it is just a fun, but simple, piece of music that feels like it could have been recorded in 1966 by a Garage band in Ohio. It equally sounds like a rather basic band manifesto in writing a three-minute pop gem designed to be a hit in the charts, which doesn’t usually sit very well with me, but I give The Caesars the benefit of the doubt on ‘Jerk It Out’ because the track is well-produced in being filled with so many simple, but catchy, segments. While being pretty much the definition of a one-hit wonder, ‘Jerk it Out’ is still just good fun.

Pictured: Joakim Åhlund (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), César Vidal (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), David Lindqvist (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Nini Keller (Drums/Percussion) (2003) (Photo via ACharts.co)

I think I’ve ‘Jerked’ out however much I can handle (No, I do not mean it like that, Rude) musically on the blog today, but thank you for continuing to support the site every day. I’ll be back tomorrow as we begin the final week of April with the diverse voice of a Los-Angeles based vocalist and violinist currently signed to Stones Throw Records known for her electric blending of African music and futuristic R&B. Earlier in the year, she headlined the Stones Throw showcase live event at South By Southwest.

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Scuzz Sundays: Hard Fi – ‘Hard To Beat’

April 17, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Stars Of CCTV’ (LP) (Released on July 4th, 2005) (via Necessary Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m wishing you a good Easter Sunday with my latest installment of ‘Scuzz Sundays’ on the blog, given how it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! To be 100% transparent, I barely thought about ‘Easter’ this year and since ‘Easter Music’ isn’t really a thing, and it is not inclusive for all cultures and relgions anyway, I thought that I’d simply cover a band who have been in the news lately this week. The band in question is Hard-Fi, who released three albums between the years of 2004 and 2011 which all did decent business, spawning well-remembered hit singles like ‘Cash Machine’ and ‘Living For The Weekend’ in the process, before going on hiatus in 2014. The band received one Mercury Prize and two BRIT Awards nominations for their work, as well as a #1 album in 2007 and a 2x platinum certification for the sales of their debut album. They also dipped their toes into podcasting with their series ‘Hard-Fi: Rockin’ The City’ that was widely available in 2007 and even got nominated for ‘Best Podcast’ at the Digital Music Awards that year. I think that ‘Hard To Beat’ must be their best-known single as it did the rounds on the soundtracks of ‘FIFA 06’ and ‘MLB 06: The Show’ shortly following release and it reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart as well as #34 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks Chart in the US too. If you’ve been following Hard Fi-related news lately – and you would be forgiven if you haven’t honestly due to them not being around for such a long time – they have been teasing a rare fifteenth anniversary show for ‘Stars Of CCTV’ with posters spotted on the London Underground that features a date pointing to a gig in mid-October. Just don’t shout ‘Hard-Fi’ if you see it next to your fellow passengers because they would probably take you for some kind of a mental lunatic. Let’s revisit ‘Hard To Beat’ below.

A series of social media posts relating to ‘Stars Of CCTV’ have been posted gradually by Hard-Fi elsewhere and they have not performed live together since 2014. In April 2020, Richard Archer – the frontman of the Staines-Upon-Thames formed indie rock outfit – told NME that Hard-Fi were considering a return to the stage to mark their unforgotten first album’s 15-year milestone, saying, “That album has defined people’s lives and when they were growing up. We’ll definitely do it at some point, but with new music too so we’re not just trading on past glories”, in an interview. ‘Hard To Beat’ takes obvious cues from Daft Punk’s ironically overplayed 2002 hit track ‘One More Time’ with filtered disco guitar sounds mixing with a more urban twist created by the lightly distorted Synths and Grunge-driven Bass melodies. Lyrics like “You in a short skirt/Shining eyes of deep brown/You had a dirty hook, you caught me on your hook” feel rhythmic and have a catchy twang to them, but the light darkness of the sexually aroused emotions consummates the rather evident marriage between the LCD Soundystem-influenced House genre explorations and the more “ladd-ish” feel of the ruthlessly driving mid-00’s lead guitar riffs. A hint of paranoia comes through, with lyrics like “I said come on, let’s dance/We’ve got to take our chance/You whispered in my ear/You wanna get out of here?” that talk about living in an environment like London, even though the band are much closer to Cornwall. Some obvious shots of Franz Ferdinand and The Clash are in here too, with the danceable Synths drawing out the vocals at the end and gruff Drum melodies riffing against the slightly more expansive electronic effects that create the Disco vibe most vibrantly. There is a light political commentary on surveillance and urban decay within their songwriting in the grander scheme of things beyond ‘Hard To Beat’ as a standalone single, but Archer doesn’t quite have the sharp-pointed vocal dexterity of Maximo Park’s Paul Smith or the socially observational abilities of Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner – two comparable indie rock bands that also found fame in a similar timeframe – but there’s an admirable attempt to ground the material in a sense of place that isn’t just tied to London in here, nevertheless. The Disco vibe is damn infectious too, but the lyricism works better when they’re smoothly trying to pick up love interests instead of reciting pains of urban dilapidation. That said, the track is a fun and melodic single that wears it’s influences on it’s sleeves and it simply feels very catchy. It felt a little disposable for the time but, admittedly, it still gets a fair amount of airplay today. It has stood the test of time because it is so memorable and pretty dynamic, if nothing very special. It goes to show that sometimes a simple throwback is, well, hard to beat.

Pictured: Richard Archer (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar), Kai Stephens (Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals), Steve Kemp (Drums/Backing Vocals) and Ross Phillips (Rhythm Guitar/Synths/Backing Vocals) (2006) (Photo via Getty Images)

Thank you for checking out my latest post because your support is absolutely valued every time, and I will be here kicking off the brand new week’s worth of music posts tomorrow with a review for a recent release by an Atlanta-based Hip-Hop duo who are also founding members of the Spillave Village collective. Their well-received second studio album, ‘Ghetto Gods’, was released in February via Dreamville Records.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Gossip – ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’

March 16, 2022 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Beth Ditto (Vocals/Piano), Nathan Howdeshell (Bass/Keyboard) & Hannah Billie (Drums) (2019) (via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to start spreading the word on the street (or the internet) that there is another daily track on the blog in town as we go retro for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Formerly known as ‘The Gossip’ – Gossip were a Beth Ditto-led punk rock band from Arkansas who were originally active between 1999 and 2016 who were another name in a fairly familiar string of Garage Rock Revival sub-genre bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s and The Hives who were also popular in the contemporary mainstream of the time. Exploring a mixture of indie rock, post-punk revival and dance-rock influences, they gained some breakthrough in radio charts popularity with their 2006 track ‘Standing In The Control’, a glitzy Pop-Punk number that reached the top ten of the UK Singles Chart and it has appeared on decade-end lists like NME’s ‘150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years’ at the #34 rank on the list in 2011 and at #429 on Pitchfork’s ‘Top 500 Greatest Tracks Of The 2000’s’ list in late 2009. It was the lead single of Gossip’s third studio album of the same name released in 2006, which reached #1 on the UK’s Indie Chart and it has reached Gold status in the territory. Produced by Ryan Hadlock and Guy Picciotto, it was Gossip’s first album to feature new drummer Hannah Billie, of Seattle’s Chromatics fame. If you used to watch the British TV drama ‘Skins’ on E4, you would also know the track as it was proclaimed to be the ‘unofficial’ theme track of the programme as it featured heavily in promotional materials and it would be played on the DVD main menu’s of the series’ home release. Let’s remember it below.

The yellow, black and red graffiti-style cover artwork for the physical single release was designed by none other than Kim Gordon, the bassist of Sonic Youth. Meanwhile, the track itself was written as a response to the Federal Marriage Amendment, a highly controversial code of law that would have outlawed gay marriage across the US. With this theme in mind, the impassioned instrumentation and the reasonably soft, yet minimal and pulsating, lead vocals by Beth Ditto hit harder as a battle cry for empowered liberation than anybody who has ever felt constrained or marginalized may have expected from Gossip. Bursting out of the gate energetically with the unforgettable refrain of “Your back’s against the wall/There’s no one home to call/You’re forgetting who to call/You can’t stop crying” that boasts the core sentiment of denying the authorities’ will to make same sex marriage illegal, a process that feels alien today, which paves the way for Billie to hit her metronomic hi-hat snares and four-on-the-floor bass kicks with her ragged Punk-infused Drum parts, while guitarist Brace Paine contributes some vigorous bass lines and high-energy guitar riffs, that chug along to the distortion-drenched production of the thin and treble-enhanced range of melodies, to the equation. Ditto’s vocals earn a distinction among the wealth of other talents in the Garage-Rock revival business of the mid-00’s as they feel rather Bluesy, yet propulsive, with a smoky delivery on mid-chorus hooks like “You’ll live your life/Survive the only way that you know” and a commanding presence above the instrumentation that recalls the vintage Motown acts of the 70’s like Diana Ross and Ann Wilson in her wailing notes and her lengthily sustained filler phrases. The track also fits squarely into the DIY ethics of an underground Punk feminist movement of the 1990’s called the ‘Riot grrrl’ era in the way that Ditto’s band combine Punk music with Politics on this, probably, best-known single from them. ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ feels like a natural blend between the two styles, and it creates a noticeable Disco edge too, as it feels impossible not to mindlessly nod your head along to the groove. It was unapologetically brash, and Ditto’s band were transformed from a clan of Dance-Punk disruptors to Pop phenomena in the process.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ (LP/Album) (Released on January 24th, 2006) (via Back Yard Recordings/Kill Rock Stars)

That brings me to the end of another nostalgic throwback post on One Track At A Time, and I hope that you have a pleasant day, and thank you for showing your support for the site today. I’ll be diverting your attention back to brand new music tomorrow, as we review the latest single by a Grime-meets-Punk duo based in East London who have toured with hardcore rapper Nascar Aloe, supported Gallows at their comeback gig at House Of Vans in 2019 and were featured in a guest appearance on a BBC Radio 1 session by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes presented by Annie Mac.

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Today’s Track: Jockstrap – ’50/50′

November 29, 2021 — Leave a comment
Pictured: Georgia Ellery (Vocals/Violin) and Taylor Skye (Vocals/Producer/Flute) (2019) (Photo via BBC News)

Good Morning to you! You’re tuned into the text of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to get a little wackier than usual for today’s entry on the blog, not forgetting that it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! If you have been a regular follower of my blog for some time (Firstly, thank you for doing so), you may already know that I’m an enamored fan of Jockstrap, a wildly experimental electronic duo who have released some masterful singles like ‘Acid’ and ‘The City’, as well as the ‘Wicked City’ EP on Warp Records previously. The link-up is between violinist/vocalist Georgia Ellery (Who is also a member of another stunning band – Black Country, New Road) and the DJ/Producer Taylor Skye, who have been working together since they met while studying at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama in 2016. They performed at the virtual Eurosonic Festival earlier this year but, other than that activity, Jockstrap have remained a little quiet in recent months outside of a few tour dates and amicably so. However, that all changed when they released ’50/50′, a new single, after some teasing around on social media, last week. It arrives with a new video that was filmed on a handheld camera at The Glove That Fits, a Hackney-based live venue in London, during an encore from one of their recent shows. It also, presumably, seems to feature some of Ellery’s bandmates from Black Country, New Road too. Let’s take a ’50/50′ chance on the new recording below.

Although Ellery and Skye’s genre-fluid material has always been a decent fit for the forward-thinking label of Warp Records, ’50/50′ marks their signing to Rough Trade Records for this time around. A brief press release accompanying ’50/50′ also states that, ironically, Skye constructed the crunching beats for the new single whilst recovering in bed from tonsillitis. It doesn’t seem like too far-fetched a story after hearing how ’50/50′ disregards conventional structure traits so delicately and how vibrant the production feels as the shape-shifting anthem rolls along to its nearly four minute duration. Jockstrap has always worked well by blending a mix of classical training with cutting-edge electronic production that warps the meaning of words around and makes the lyrics sound witty at times, with Ellery’s half-whispered and angelic vocals creating a stunning contrast to the unpredictable beats of Skye that branch out into weird yet wonderful territory that surround her minimalist presence with an often cascading soundscape. ’50/50′ builds on that dynamic, but it certainly feels more club-oriented and a little more melodic than usual. To me, it sounds as if it’s their take on the 2010’s Lo-Fi House movement that saw producers like Ross From Friends and DJ Seinfeld become prominent names in Electronica. This time, it feels even more intense. Ellery quickly calls us to holler in the outset, before the twisted and glitchy sounds unsettle the listener and flip the switch. It develops with elements of Techno and Acid as the track moves along, while Ellery’s vocals similarly come through in patchy emissions that flip between emotive and sardonic when audible, complemented by the mangled beats of Skye behind the decks that feel a little ethereal in the third quarter, becoming equally fragmented and infectious, as they thrash and thump along to their own pace. All inclusively, it has the same slap-bang impact that have made previous Jockstrap recordings a hit with critics and audiences alike. Different but not immediately accessible to mainstream pop charts, ’50/50′ is a treat for those who enjoy their music for the wonky side. A lab experiment gone right.

Pictured: Georgia Ellery & Taylor Skye in a promotional photoshoot for ‘Acid’ (2020) (Photo via DIY Mag.com)

If I have coloured you intrigued about Jockstrap, you can find out more if you revisit my take on ‘Acid’, which was originally one of their earliest singles, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/21/todays-track-jockstrap-acid/. You can also experience more of their unique methods with my take on ‘The City’ from their ‘Wicked City’ EP here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/06/17/todays-track-jockstrap-the-city/.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Wicked City’ (EP) (Released on June 19th, 2020) (via Warp Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for remembering to visit the site everyday, and I’ll be back tomorrow to do it all over again. Much like Jockstrap today, tomorrow’s post will feature a gang of youngsters who made their debut appearance on the blog with peaceful protest anthem ‘Nobody Scared’ during the summer, but I also really enjoyed their latest single and I wanted to write about them again. A Manchester-based Art Pop quartet who will likely appeal to fans of Alt-J or Everything Everything, they supported Cory Wong at Manchester’s 02 Ritz prior to UK Lockdown in 2020. Support has flooded in from Clash, DIY, BBC Radio 6 Music & Radio X’s John Kennedy.

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Today’s Track: White Lies – ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’

November 16, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’ (LP) (Available from Feb 18, 2022) (via PIAS Recordings)

Good Morning to you! You’re tuned into the words of Jacob Braybrooke and it’s time for another quick daily track on the blog, because it has always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The calendar for a new year of album releases seems to be filling up all of a sudden, with the likes of Charli XCX and Metronomy set to issue anticipated new long-players in the early months, but the Ealing-based Post Punk Revival group White Lies, who were originally formed as Fear Of Flying in 2007, are yet another cog in the machine of 2022 releases. A band who gained popularity at a similar time to their peers of Editors, The Pigeon Detectives and The Bravery, White Lies have survived the ‘Indie Distortion’ of the 00’s as a critically acclaimed live act. Their debut album, ‘To Lose My Life’, was a number one hit on the UK Albums Chart in its first week on sale, and they were also recruited for BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2009’ poll, and nominated for the BRIT’s Critics Choice Award. They are shortly going to issue their sixth LP, ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’, which they recorded within two studio sessions at the Assault & Battery and Sleeper studios in their homestead of London, where they resumed their partnership with frequent collaborator Ed Buller as their engineer. It was also co-produced and mixed by Cladius Mittendorfer, who has previously spent time behind the decks with Panic! At The Disco and Weezer. The title track and lead single, ‘As I Try Not To Fall Apart’, is our first taste of the record, which the Indie Rock trio describe as their most ambitious project yet. It has been accompanied by a music video directed by James Arden, which finds vocalist Harry McVeigh embossed in an hourglass of sinking sand. They will be touring the UK and Europe in Spring of 2022, and the accomplished new single explores the anxieties of modern masculinity in a mental health position. Let’s give it a spin below.

“We wrote this song quickly, late at night, and often the songs which come quickest are written from the gut and the heart, not with the head”, the band collectively say about their latest single, noting, “We wanted the melody to feel like a hymn, to give the confessional lyrics weight despite being wrapped up as a Pop song. It’s about accepting vulnerability as a man, and knowing it’s ok to be broken. There’s never been a more pressing time to spread the message that it’s ok to not be ok”, in their press statement to announce their forthcoming full-length album. Built on an intoned, Synth-enhanced drum groove that should be familiar to fans of Joy Divison or Interpol, bands that White Lies have cited as their inspirations, McVeigh reflects on the strength that modern men are pressured to conform to, with lyrics like “It’s not the way a man like me behaves/It’s not the way the world would make me play my part” in the chorus, and the opening refrain of “Am I a faulty kind of man so tender in the heart?” says a lot about how the band view the stereotypes of men being quiet and well-composed, somewhat cold and emotionless, in British society. Meanwhile, the instrumentation decorates the scene with glistening, 80’s New Wave Synth hooks and a vocal delivery that feels silky, but the brooding evocations of the lyrics are still a little bleak and colder than your average Pop/Rock record. It feels a little gothic and dark, which is representative of the band’s earlier work, while also giving the hooks a more distinctly airy sound. They follow a conventional Pop/Rock structure, with the bright tonality of the Synths counteracting the more harsh, aggressive guitar-led beats. It walks a delicate tightrope between 80’s Pop and Post-Punk, and, thankfully, it is a tightrope that White Lies walk confidently. In fact, given how I haven’t seen the trio to be particularly relevant in recent years, I was suprised how much I enjoyed this new track and that’s because I personally really, really enjoyed it very much. This is very catchy Post-Rock music that feels influenced merticulously by the band’s own late-00’s image and the likes of Tears For Fears from the 80’s. It manages to fulfill the ‘Indie Dancefloor’ niche of their genre, while the post-modern existentialist lyrics within the songwriting give you something more to feel and think about that resonates beyond the commercial accessibility of the new track, and so it feels brooding and bleak enough to please Post-Punk fans while reeling in some audiences who may typically steer away from the Alternative Rock scene. Overall, this was an excellent single that feels catchy and easy to access yet intriguing, as with each listen, I can find something new to come to light that I may have skipped beforehand. While it is perhaps not likely to tip the planet over on its axis, this was a solid and engaging single from a band who simply know what they’re comfortable with doing and what to give their fans, and stick to it well, while gradually evolving their style with subtlety.

  • Pictured: Harry McVeigh (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Charles Cave (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Jack Lawrence-Brown (Drums/Percussion) (2017) (Photography by Red Light Management)

That’s all for now! Thank you for joining me on the blog today, and I’ll be back tomorrow for the newest entry in our ‘Countdown To Christmas’ feature, as we look at some Festive music that’s new and original, coming from an American Singer-Songwriter and Pianist who has won nine Grammy awards and she was ranked 60th on Billboard magazine’s artists of the 2000’s decade chart. She also made her acting debut in the 2007 movie ‘My Blueberry Nights’ – which was directed by Wong Kar-Wai.

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Scuzz Sundays: Bloc Party – ‘Helicopter’

November 7, 2021 — Leave a comment
  • Pictured: Kele Okereke (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Sampling), Russell Lissack (Lead Guitar/Keyboard), Justin Harris (Bass Guitar/Synths) & Louise Bartle (Drums/Percussion) (2015) (Photo by Rachael Wright)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s the time of the week where we re-evaluate some of the biggest hits that would have gained airplay from the likes of Kerrang and Scuzz TV in the decades past, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! The current line-up of Bloc Party sees long-serving frontman Kele Okereke touring with Russell Lisack, Louise Bartle and Justin Harris, but previous iterations of the project have seen guitarists like Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes playing among their ranks. Although I’m not very sure how well-known that Bloc Party are globally, they are a household name in the UK, having scored many memorable crossover hits like ‘Flux’, ‘Hunting For Witches’, ‘Banquet’, ‘Two More Years’ and ‘The Prayer’ in the UK Singles Charts, well on their way to selling over three million albums worldwide. ‘Helicopter’ was a permanent fixture on the multiplayer mode of ‘Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock’ from 2007, and it was one of the band’s first mainstream successes, as it was released as a standalone single in 2004 before also appearing on their debut studio album, ‘Silent Alarm’, the next year. Known for blending 00’s ‘Indie’ rock tropes with elements of Ambient House and Electronica, Bloc Party received decent reviews for their first LP and the record was named the ‘Indie Album Of The Year’ at the 2006 PLUG Awards and at the NME Awards of the same year. Let’s remind ourselves of ‘Helicopter’ below.

A Garage rock-tinged 00’s indie anthem, ‘Helicopter’ reached #26 in the UK Singles Chart and the main riff was adapted from The Jam’s ‘Set The House Ablaze’ taken off their 1980 album, ‘Sound Affects’. Making it’s mark on popular culture, the original record and remixes of the record have appeared in video games like ‘Project Gotham Racing 3’, ‘FIFA 06’ and ‘Colin McRae DIRT 2’, and it can also be heard in film and TV productions like ‘Yes Man’, ‘Charlie St. Cloud’ and ‘Malcolm In The Middle’ too. As for the track itself, Bloc Party managed to stand out from contemporary peers like Interpol and Franz Ferdinand by drawing from the dark spectrum of their homeland’s 1980’s indie pop canon with some Gang Of Four-laden guitar stabs in the chorus and by jogging the memories of The Jam, especially in the melodic vocals that add a grittier feel to their sound. The lyrics are a rally cry for a call to arms against those who stand for political incorrectness and the acceptance of those who stand still, with lyrics like “Are you waiting for a miracle?” influencing a feel of urgency, and notable refrains like “North to South/Empty” inspiring independence as a glorified weapon. Yet more raw guitar riffs energetically charge these vocals, and the somewhat off-key backing vocals are cased in a distorted fuzz, giving the effect of back-tracking of polished perfection. There’s a catchy Strokes-like harmonized guitar line in the verses, and the track also has a memorable bridge that builds up some bitter effect-boosted guitar riffs leading to an up-tempo riff or harmonics that add a fresh, somewhat inventive, dimension to the track in its great finale, so to speak, and this is a very solid effect because it creates some pounding instrumentation that feels energetic before the charismatic Drum outro. I felt that drummer Matt Tong really shined in this track, and the accessibility of the tune managed to garner interest from the average indie pop/rock listener without departing too drastically from their influences of Electronica and Ghetto House that were important to Bloc Party’s core sound. In conclusion, while this probably isn’t the most accurate representation of Bloc Party overall, it is still a very catchy pop/rock tune that pulls a few of the tricks up its sleeves to a raucous effect with catchy hooks and a nice balance of radio-friendly appeal and something more alternative. It was a timeless single that, along with Arctic Monkeys and Maximo Park, commanded sizeable audiences for Indie acts.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Silent Alarm’ (LP) (Released on February 2, 2005) (via Wichita Recordings)

Thank you for checking out my latest post, and I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at solo music from a Cuban-American singer songwriter who was previously a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, who found fame with global chart hits like ‘Worth It’ following their third place finish from the US series of ‘The X Factor’ of 2012.

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The Green-Eyed Gig-Goer’s Guide: Yard Act, The Portland Arms, Cambridge, September 27, 2021

September 29, 2021 — Leave a comment

May 28th, 2021. That’s when I had booked my tickets to see Yard Act at The Portland Arms in Cambridge, which would be my first gig in my nearest city of Cambridge, my first gig since… my first gig in February 2020 to see The Orielles at The Sugar Mill in Stoke-On-Trent. My first gig since the (not really, but relatively) end of the Covid-19 pandemic by the government’s ‘Freedom Day’ terms, and my first gig since finishing my Negotiated Study in Music Broadcast Journalism at Staffordshire University. So, you can tell there were a lot of ‘firsts’ to this occasion and, as a young adult male who lives in Littleport and has not learned to drive their own car yet, a little bit of hassle in getting the logistics of public transport and parental approval in check. I can’t really pretend that I’ve been to loads of gigs before for your sake on the blog, but my ‘fresh gig-goers guide’ series that begins today – where I recap and review some of the live music events that I have been attending – aims to launch us into the right creative direction. So, did the special band pull it off on the special night of my life and career?

Before Yard Act took to the stage, I managed to catch the support set from the Post-Rock band Deep Tan, who are currently based in London to the best of my belief. When I saw that Deep Tan were going to be here on the night, I got a few butterflies in my stomach because I previously spotlighted their tune ‘Camelot’ on the blog from their debut EP, ‘Creeping Speedwells’, which was released over the past June. I loved their moody and Blues-inspired take on the toxicity of social media on the heavy track ‘Do You Ever Ascend’ that was introduced by the band as a homage to their favourite Instagram page. Another huge highlight of their set was the performance of ‘Constant Inconsistencies’, an old-school DIY Punk belter with twangy sonic guitars and a sound that pointed to the likes of Warpaint and Interpol in its dark tone that combined a contemporary style of production with a 70’s Punk aesthetic. They did an excellent job at warming the crowd up for some anthemic Post-Punk later on in the night, and we all reacted to the music with joyful whoops and hollers from those who had familiarity with the support act already. Deep Tan did a great job of interacting with the crowd as well, giving us a taster of their songwriting skills with some speeches about the inspirations behind their tracks before unleashing a pure wall of sound among us. It felt like an intimate gig for them, and they worked very hard to give us all a great time before the main event. I really enjoyed the dark textures of their sound, the old-school rock ‘n’ roll Punk direction of their production, and the down-to-earth personality of the three ladies, who had a great sense of style to their clothing and visuals. I also managed to chat to the leading lady – Wafah Dufour – after the show at the stage and I simply told her that I liked how her music made me feel something rather than just telling me something and I whipped my phone out to show her the blog post that I published on the blog all about ‘Camelot’. She was a very kind soul who was very appreciative of my comments and she talked to some other gig-goers as well, before packing up the amps. Overall, they were really excellent. The music is full of mood and I would really enjoy hearing a full album from Deep Tan in the future.

That brings us to the main course of the evening from Yard Act, a band who garnered my attention with ‘Fixer Upper’ and ‘Dark Days’ on BBC Radio 6 Music, two amusing Post-Punk anthems that both feel like a grounded, but comedic commentary on social attitudes of the elite upper class. The band are from Leeds, have only played a handful of gigs together before their latest tour and festival stint, and they will also be releasing their debut full-length album, ‘The Overload’, on January 4th, 2022. ‘Fixer Upper’ was the strong opener, and although I didn’t see Graham in the crowd, he was certainly attending in his spirit. The band were very attentive to the crowd, and this was a common theme that ran throughout the night. It never really felt like they were playing to a crowd, but more like they were playing with the crowd in attendance. There were constant in-jokes about Oasis, the current Petrol station crisis and polite swearing throughout the night that pinned back and forth between the crowd and the band themselves. They were asking us what we wanted to hear and responding with lively commentaries. Their clothing was also quite funny, as it was all a bit of a show. The glasses, trenchcoats and stripy tops they were wearing were top class, and fitted the social commentary of the tracks very nicely. ‘Peanuts’ was another big highlight of the night, as the band asked us to recite the Spoken Word piece of the track, which was met with good humour, fun interaction and jokes about how we paid to see the band and not the fanboys in the crowd. One of my favourite quips of the night is when the frontman – James Smith – responded to the crowds requests for Oasis by responding that Noel Gallagher is a “d**head, but I’ve met quite a few d***heads in my time and they were alright” with his speech. I also want to point out how quite a few of the youngsters were having a great time moshing to the likes of ‘The Overload’ and fan-favourite ‘Dark Days’, which got one of the loudest cheers of the night, in the center of the venue. It never got out of control, however, and they were very respectful of the weaklings like me who were also in attendance. We also got to hear several tunes from the new album like ‘Human Sacrifice’ and ‘Dead Horse’ that Smith jokes were “pretty much exclusive” to Cambridge with his skills on full display. The set wrapped up around 10pm, which was great for those unlucky souls like me who had to go to work in the next morning, which Smith also poked a stick at.

On the whole, the experience of going to see Yard Act and Deep Tan at The Portland Arms was certainly a worthwhile one. It was a very lively gig that took place in front of a very enthusiastic sold-out crowd and although I certainly suffer from a lack of experience as a writer for the event, I can tell that I probably can’t ask for anything else. Definitely make sure that you check out Deep Tan if you like your dark, emotive textures and your water-tight guitar work. Yard Act themselves were a fantastic main event because of the showman skills they worked with and the crowd who were clearly very excited for the main performance of the night. The venue staff were polite and down-to-earth, and the crowd were all there to have a great time whilst being mindful to others. A great way to kick off all these “firsts” for my journey on this road – or maybe not at this rate of petrol – which the band also joked about to quirky effect.

Words by Jacob Braybrooke

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