Are you into XX teens?
It’s a question with many answers, but we’ll stick to the music for now. Lucky for this reviewer that they supplied a press release, as I’m rather reticent to go searching for any further information on the internet. The band used to be called Xerox Teens, but had to change it for legal reasons and you have to respect them for such a good natured response.
‘Welcome to Goon Island’ is their debut album, and as an opening shot it showcases a band full of life and ideas. There’s more variety here than at a Woolworths pick ‘n’ mix (thought it prudent to get this analogy in now before it’s too late), which makes for an interesting and surprisingly consistent album. In terms of a dirty party album, this is an akin to the one I hope Dead Kids will produce when the time is right.
‘The Way We Were’ starts the album in a rather peaceful and reserved manner for about thirty seconds, with shimmering strings, which make way for the first It sounds like Sheffield glamsters Pink Grease. The verses are understated, while the chorus will have people raising their arms at the nearest discerning club nights. Quite early on, it’s clear to see that this is a band who have a great grasp of riffs and a desire to sound different than the norm.
Singer Rich Cash has two main singing styles – there’s the manic Rapture-esque hollering that accompanies some of the more frenetic numbers like former single ‘Onkawara.’ At other times, there is a more dour, Iggy Pop melancholia, especially during the verses, which offer something of a challenge to And sometimes the styles appear in the same songs, as displayed in My Favourite Hat, which sounds like The Cooper Temple Clause after a healthy dose of stimulants.
There’s an element of chaos to most of the songs, with a whole of host of instrument, synth-generated or otherwise. ‘Round’ has a hook that sounds like it’s been lifted straight from a Dr Dre album, but it has been incorporated into this indie-rocker so effortlessly that it succeeds in sounding completely appropriate. ‘Sun Comes Up’ has a distinctly Buddhist feel to it, with an ethereal chorus, yet it is built around an atypical Stone Roses riff that you barely notice in and amongst a relentless drumbeat and a series of whooshes. It has the urgency of a Kasabian single and the beat sensibilities of The Chemical Brothers.
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‘B-54’ is a Parklife you won’t be ashamed of loving in fifteen years time. It’s much better than that actually; punk with a groove. The trumpet supported ‘Ba (Ba-Ba-Ba) is a rare breather with the Iggy style singing disrupting a Divine Comedy effort beautifully. Each song on this album has single potential as XX Teens are essentially conventional with a flair that makes their sound compelling.
‘For Brian Haw’ is a celebration of the modern legend who has been shouting at politicians outside Parliament for years now. Before protest laws were amended, Brian Haw set up camp in Parliament Square and has lived their ever since denouncing our Govenrment’s human rights abuses. Having met the man, this song is even better. As an album closer, it’s a solid, aggressive dirty dance song, and it’s quite easy to forget that it’s actually about someone. This is rectified immediately by a spoken word call to arms from the man himself, which is a touching, heart-felt and not least unusual way to end an album. It’s a poignant end to a generally fun album which clarifies the point that there is more to the band than damned good party tunes.
So yes, with no hint of shame I can say XX Teens, bring ‘em on.
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