Sorry are one of those new, young London bands. Part of that pack of slightly feral groups that started to emerge a couple of years ago, along with Shame, Goat Girl and the Fat White Family set and many others. They've been dropping singles and EPs for a while and now they've put together and released their debut album.
It's a clammy, uncomfortable listen. Reminiscent at times of previous moments in British Pop history, the Mid Nineties. The late Seventies. I hear Tricky and The Slits, Blur, P.J.Harvey and Elastica. It's truly a pick and mix of the kind they used to offer at the Woolworth's sweet counter before that shop's sad demise. The music is grubby and claustrophobic, deliberately so. There are a lot of loose ends, unexplained leads and discontinued threads, songs don't conform to standard verse / chorus expectations, the band sound as if they're playing for themselves and their own enjoyment as much as for a perceived audience.
None of these are criticisms. The messiness of the record is central to its appeal. They have an intriguing lead singer in Asha Lorenz and her vocals are complemented with constant co-text from a male bandmate Louis O'Bryen. There's a lot of call and response going on. Nothing is particularly coherent but guitar, bass and melody lines slip in and out of the mix throughout, keeping things lively.
This is an album to return to, to try to work out what is going on. You may not be any wiser but you will get to anticipate its snaky rhythms. Sorry plunder from traditional Indie, Alternative and Pop sources but disassemble the structure and reinvent the wheel in a highly creative way. This is out of the box thinking of a genuine kind. One of the most original albums I've heard this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment