|
|
Isabelle/Feel The Same: Debut single from Battle
MR CHATTERBOX
I got this single as an early birthday present from Corrine, and I can??t think of anything more that I??d rather be given. I guess I feel the same
as Jazzy, enthusing about every revivalist ??The? band, even though some argue convincingly they don??t warrant it. Here would come the part, I
laud heaps of praise on this record. But I won??t do that, instead I??ll say if you don??t like this music movement, then there are others out
there for you. Slow riot??s Post rock maybe?
Isabelle is a lovely little ditty, and it??s no surprise these guys used to be called ??Killing Moon?, because the Echo and Bunnymen sound in it
is obvious. Both these demo songs, have had beautiful production work done to them, to give a polished sound, with steady drumming patterns and
Interpol type bass lines. There??s serenity and torture in equal measures in their songs and I like that, which makes them darker compared to their
chirpier, rockabilly contemporaries. The affect it produces is that of introspective, melancholic leanings, but distinctively uplifting. James
Bavanandan??s vocals are the best out there, there??s a breezy lightness and delicacy to them, reaching a stage of frenzy in more charged parts of
the song. Well suited then for the subject matter of romantic yearnings and a girl called Isabelle. Who??d have thought pussy boy rock would ever
make it to the mainstream, as fellow touring pals Bloc Party have demonstrated. Comparisons between the two are pointless, as this debut single has
proven they??re a very different band in their own right.
The B-side Feel The Same is a great track starting with a delightful, scuzzy, distorted intro, sounding like a dreamier version of the strokes. The
bass player and drummer in this band are highly skilled and Bavanandan the least likely front man you??re ever going to see. He??s tiny, fragile,
uncomfortable and not aesthetically pretty and charismatic like many others before him. There??ll be no Kaiser Chiefs leaps from this band, and witty
between song banter. How he manages to fill a stage confounds me, but it also works in his favour, because people??s curiosities are piqued, that
this small man is giving them a personal insight into his soul, and it does end up feeling like that, like a mentally tortured Thom Yorke. This is
indeed rare to find, where being a poseur is equally as important as the music you make. So why should we care what these four tiny dweebs have to
offer us?
Well quite simply it highlights that anyone can make music, you don??t have to be the best looking or have a tiny bit of charisma. And in a period of
musical mediocrity and the Pop Idol school of thought, more of this is needed. These guys aren??t embracing geek chic as some cool, they genuinely
are it, which makes me respect them more. If this inspires more people who ordinarily wouldn??t take to expressing themselves through song, to pick
up a guitar, than some difference will have been made and we may end up with better music as a result.
|
[   Add Comment |  Send to a Friend |  Printable ]
|
|
