Is this the anti Anto Parks? A few weeks ago I wrote about my reaction to Arlo's debut album Collapse in Sunbeams on here. I also went on to discuss my feelings about it on the podcast I've made for the last couple of months related to this blog wth friend Rod. To my shame I'm afraid I slightly mocked Arlo, or at least some of her lyrical concerns.
It was a bit unfair for me to do so, though I'll generally grasp any opportunity for humour no matter how slender. I am not by any means within Collapse in Sunbeams' natural constituency. I am a 55 year old man. The people who will lap up and truly appreciate the record most are surely those within the 15-25 year age range.
But I have to confess I did tire rather of songs of sad teens sat in their rooms empathising with each other and discussing their every inner thought as if they were the most profound set of emotions ever articulated rather than a phase we must all go through in our youth. A glorious, precious stage of personal discovery perhaps but undeniably one where we're at our most self absorbed.
So here we are, and a few weeks down the line I've chanced upon this, Going to Hell the debut album from Lande Hekt. It's another window into the concerns and preoccupations of youth.Now Lande is not a band, but a young English woman, one who also plays in Muncie Girls a trio, she also fronts from Exeter, Devon. I've only listened to her record through once but I have to say I warmed to it a great deal more than I did to Collapse in Sunbeams which I played quite a lot when it came out.
Musically Going to Hell is not remotely state of the art in any respect. It might as well be an early Billy Bragg record with Lande at the mic instead of Bill. It's old school as it could possibly be. A series of from the heart Indie Punk songs. Melodic, likeable and immediate. Also informative. And sincere.
Hecht is probably a fair bit older than Parks. She's been in Muncie Girls for the best part of ten years now. But her lyrics make an interesting contrast with Parks'. In terms of their preoccupations she helpfully lists them on her own Spotify bio; queerness, sobriety, displacement, anxiety and hating Tories. Not things I know an enormous amount about really, except perhaps the latter. But there was plenty here that I could empathise with very easily without any enormous leap of faith on my part.
Anyhow, Hekt explores her themes with plain and refreshing candour. There's not a shred of self pity on the record, nor does she introvert unecessarily. By contrast with Collapse in Sunbeams, everything on Going to Hell is projected outward. These are plain, unadorned anthems and they make a statement, in fact a series of statement. Statements of pride and self realisation and a definite journey rather than what we get with Arlo. A journey to the shops to buy some fruit by a couple of inward looking teenagers done up like Robert Smith. Sorry Arlo. Your album is actually really great despite all these cruel jibes. But my vote goes here.
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