Darlings of the NME Brit-Pack, THE ORDINARY BOYS are a bunch of cheeky, stylish lads, rising from the confines of working-class drudgery thanks to their soul-saving, life-affirming, rock and roll tunes. Or are they?
It has to be said that something bothers me about the concept of The Ordinary Boys. They openly hero-worship Paul Weller and, both lyrically and musically, they do transport us back to the sneery and angsty early Jam days circa "In the City". They dress like the sharpest faces in the Mod scene- Crombie coats, button-down shirts and immaculate Levis – and echo The Who’s definitive "Quadrophenia" in their latest video, but do they ring true? At the height of Brit-pop, Blur were outed for their contrived common-people image when they were, in fact, rich kids singing about a working class stereotype – dog races, bank holidays and the ever-present lack of money.
I’m not implying that The Ordinary Boys are anything other than ordinary, but their sound and image seems too polished and contrived to be for real. We all know how the NME loves this band but, by their own admission, they also love a good scene, and this is what The Ordinary Boys are all about.
Still, "Over the Counter Culture" is a great pop album, full of anthemic Mod tracks and brimming over with all that’s special about the British music scene – reverential, yet vital, arrogant, but with the self-belief to back this up. Tales of working life and living for the weekend are accompanied by fantastic Smiths-style guitars, (this band also love Morrissey, and it shows). Both singles feature on the album, with at least another four possibilities shining through and this, for me, is the sad contradiction of this band. The Ordinary Boys are a fantastic British band, a great live act with a buoyant and loyal following and, in "Over the Counter Culture" they have produced a memorable debut album. I can only hope that their real talent is not lost within the hype surrounding the current scene – for which time must surely be running out!
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The danger lies within the fact that their music and image are so intertwined and part of the British 2004 zeitgeist, that I doubt they could stand alone without the constant hype from the music press. Enjoy this album for what it is, a truly definitive collection for the Millennium Mod – and lots of fun too – and hope that next summer The Ordinary Boys are not a distant memory.
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