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The Music’s serious contender for the year’s best debut
Having built their reputation on live gigging and a handful of single and EP releases, The Music’s self-titled debut album has been anticipated with a question mark: hype or refresher? Without skirting-like around another DIY job, these Leeds lads have committed to disc some serious tunes to make this a contender for one of the best debut albums of the year.
‘The Music’ is a different take on psychedelia, from the XXI century barricades with all the mod-cons gamefully employed. Singer Robert Harvey might recall Robert Plant’s singing style but this is not in any way just a pastiche (aside ‘Turn Out The Light’) due to these songs coming after growing pains via listening to Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and Radiohead.
Its basic inspiration is certainly the late-1960s, bands like aforementioned Floyd, The Doors and assorted other acidheads but also a band like Jane’s Addiction. Their recent single, the re-released ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’, attests to Perry Farrell’s debt. But, the following song on the album, ‘Human’ just takes one out of its own skin and into another realm of sonic universe.
There are so many elements, so many details, a huge swells of instruments, it clearly points out that there were some mind-enhancers in use. But, similarly to nights, whatever gets you through creativity. ‘Float’ is claustrophobically dancey-cum-industrial, ‘Turn Out The Light’ functions like the previous song’s title while being homage to Led Zeppelin, as gentle as morning dew that expends into a scorcher on a mountaintop. ‘The People’ leads into a middle of an intense anthemic course, just a tad less grandiose than ‘Disco’… until you get ‘Too High’.
An inquisition about inspirations produces “Art”, Harvey and guitarist Adam Nutter shout in a scary unison, that includes the ‘Shawshank Redemption’ (although Buńuel/Dali’s 1921 film ‘Un Chien Andalou’ seems more appropriate) as well as books like ‘One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘Catcher in the Rye’. “And spiritual s**t”, adds Harvey. “Every man today is a result of his thoughts of yesterday.” He pauses, with a mischievous look in his eye, before announcing, “Bruce Lee said that!”
Calling their band The Music was a jagged-edged implement, open to ridicule as what else it’s supposed to be but, at the same time, it indicates the members’ conviction to the lost art of love for music. (It also questions everybody else’s contribution to this popular form that provides less and less returns for all the investments.) Still, The Music members being teenagers at the time only proves further that arrogance is the province of youth. The very good news is that The Music-ians have the goodies to back it up.
Us versus them, Pink Floyd sung about years ago but when you mature a bit you realise that you can only compete with yourself. For now, if nothing else is handy, turn off the day, turn up the volume/use cans and turn to your subconscious to provide the imagery.
8/10
Tour dates:
12 September - Dublin Whelans, Dublin
13 September - Limelight, Belfast
14 September - Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
15 September - Liquid Room, Edinburgh
17 September - University, Newcastle
18 September - University, Liverpool
20 September - Zodiac, Oxford
21 September - Little Academy, Birmingham
23 September - Fleece And Firkin, Bristol
24 September - Concorde 2, Brighton
26 September - Astoria, London
27 September - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
28 September - Blank Canvas, Leeds
2003
10 January – Brixton Academy, London
11 January – Academy, Manchester
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