David Bowie once said that although he dreamed of imitating The Velvet Underground, what came out was more vaudeville in spirit; like something from a music hall show rather than a New York basement. His point being that while The Americans do decadence effortlessly the English frequently struggle to sound so degenerate.
This anecdote came to my mind while listening to the debut album from The Half Rabbits largely because there is something so quintessentially English about their brand of miserabalism. After all, could you ever imagine as U.S. band singing a line like "these rumours trouble me greatly" ?
This is a record that makes me think of all the downsides of English life - like the drab industrial estates, soulless shopping centres and crap weather.
That said, the 2 girl/2 boy band actually hail from Oxford , not exactly a heartland of inner city decay. For this reason, when Michael Weatherburn sings "We all know that this city's a wasteland" (Of This City) you have to imagine he is at least partly speaking metaphorically.
Perhaps more accurately, it can be said these ten tales of anguish and soul-searching seem to refer not so much to a specific destitute location but rather to a set of inner doubts. In other words, the declared "tumult in my brain" (Antidote) surely identifies a fear of uniformity rather than just being a gripe about a bad day at the office.
The Kafkaesque fear of leading a purposeless existence and the open question of 'how do we live' hangs over all the songs on this record.
Thankfully, while the songs may be driven by despondency they manage to steer clear of overplaying a gloomier than thou card. You certainly couldn't imagine Joy Division ever having written a song entitled Stay Positive or penning lyrics like "I've seen the light and I know it's best to stay positive".
|
This 'mustn't grumble' perspective may not resolve all the ills but an acceptance of vulnerability at least calms the nerves.
However, the call to "gather arms to man the barricades" on How Right You Are sounds bogus and the band's inclination towards the theatrical more often than not comes across as pompous.
On the final track (Man Down) a line such as "experiments in reality may distort the outcome" seems to be culled from a university text book than actual experience.
This Changes Everything is the best track not because it is any less arty ("Quietly, quietly, We emerge from beyond the mountains" is the opening line) but simply because it has the most powerful riff and because Weatherburn does manage to capture the sense of fear and contained panic in his vocals.
Above all, this song encapsulates the mood of the record perfectly, the sense of respectability going off the rails with a stiff upper lip resolutely in place. And you can't get more English than that.
|
