Okay dear webternets, I shall now truly christen the newly dubbed Embracing Escapism (because really, Awaiting the Apocalypse, pshaaww) by taking you back exactly 12 years in time to the 97th year of the 20th century. Bring your minds back to the diminishing era of Britpop as the transition between the likes of British Punk Puritanism of yesteryear and the more contemporary generalist "indie" claims we all know to well. Remember that fantastic period of British domination finally overcoming self-indulgent musical oppression that was Grunge? I know I sure don't, being a product of the boy-band era (of this I have few regrets), yet, on paper, it is one of (if not THE) highlight of the fairly abysmal musical era. One of the most informally acclaimed bands to appear during this era was that of Sunderland's own Kenickie - known for their catchy pop-stylings and incredibly satiric lyric, they are the perfect blend of simplistic song structures and openly deprecating social critiques.
(click to enlarge)I stumbled upon Kenickie through the wonder of Kieron Gillen's initial "Phonogram" series (a brilliant comic book centred around Britpop) where Gillen described them so aptly (as seen above), I simply had to look into it for myself. After listening to "At the club" myself, I couldn't help but agree with Mr. Gillen with this general description. Kenickie do drive themselves between the generally accepted boundaries of modern pop and the more anti-conformist I-am-just-so-dang-rebellious notions of the punk movement. Their extremely catchy melodies and simplistic song structures coupled with their blatant, openly-biting sarcasm and often insulting lyrics mix to make why I love Britpop so much more than Grunge.
I think that the best way to emphasise how fantastic Kenickie are is to do a top 5 kind of deal here: I'm just going to go through a couple of the best songs off of the album (some of which can be heard here http://www.myspace.com/kenickieband and here http://www.myspace.com/kenick) and describe why they are AWESOME!
- In Your Car - the 1st track off of "At the Club" starts the album off on the right foot. Ultimately, this song is about using people as a means to an end (something Kant would get all raeg about) in order to have a good time. While this notion initially sounds disgusting, the sheer pop flavour of it mixed with Kenickie's inherent cynicism just produces an enjoyable, stereotypical track that criticises both simplistic club culture (a consistent theme throughout the album) and itself - if there's one thing Kenickie do well, its not taking themselves seriously. The song starts off with a painfully poppy guitar intro that just makes you want to start dancing like it was 1990 all over again, then the stereotypics come in. Basically, the song describes being picked up by a guy (as we've all fallen prey to) following in the logical progression of such a song - "I'm in heaven, I have been told" - much like one would expect in a song about men and cars. Then, as many Kenickie songs do, the tone shifts with the lines "I said thanks for the ride, it sure beats walking, you're really alright, though you can't tell by looking". These lines work to underpin the stereotypical aspects of the song by highlighting the superficial reasons why one would get in the car with a guy - simply for an easy ride.
- Nightlife - My personal favourite Kenickie song. Everything from it's highly dancable, bassy production to the highly poptastic catchy vocals to the sheer amount of underlying social critique is perfect in every way. The song is literally about speaking for a generation who did nothing but drink, dance, fuck and abuse each other, and this track shows that. Where "In Your Car" held a somewhat teenage innocence to it, this song is meant to show the listener just how disgusting this period was. Lines like "I can't work with heavy coats, they're not revealing" or "We have to see each other's clothes, so we're freezing" highlight the social consciousness of the time and the necessity to dress trashy in order to communicate with each other. Such deeply bitter lines are hidden behind the purposely superficial bass line and vocals, integrating the critique deliciously. They are genius, seriously guys. I again refer to Mr. Gillen and have yet another fantastic page from Phonogram for you all. He captures the message the song is trying to convey perfectly and, even though it is a disgusting message, it came in a period where it was needed.
(click to enlarge)- Punka - As one can tell by the title - with the brilliant British inflection used on the word "punker" (it makes the song so much fun to listen to when they begin to chant P-U-N-K-A in their cute little accents) - this song is about Punk. More specifically, its a critique of punk Puritanism and the superiority complex intrinsic to such an anti-conformist-look-I'm-just-so-fucking-cool-I-have-dyed-pink-hair genre. This song is just openly satirical and not subtle in the least. Lines like "we never learnt to play - 'cause we're Punka" and "my one wish is to be a punk as soon as you grow up, if Punkas ever do" just deliver such obvious contempt for the genre as well as those who defended it so strongly. Though the highlight of the song definitely comes through the line "if you dance like this, you're a Punka" said in a straight voice and followed by much laughter. Even though this song is aimed at conveying pure contempt and satire, it does follow some very consistent themes shown in the album - such as the constant references to dancing and highlighting the ridiculous nature of teen culture, in its many facets.
- Come out 2nite - and here we return to that innocent teenage angst - with that lovely British self-deprecating wit thrown in there. "Come out 2nite" is simply just highly energetic fun insulting club culture yet again with simple lines like "we dress cheap, we dress tacky" "she drank all we had and she threw up and I was glad" give us a bitch-fest reminding us just what it means to be an angry teen all over again. Who doesn't want to remember that? And yet again, simply because I can, a page from Phonogram that makes me lol every. single. time.
(click to enlarge)
- Classy - This song had me at first listen. This was one of the tracks that sold Kenickie for me; wailing Sonic Youth-esque guitars, deliciously angsty lyrics that involve "we make things out of sin, with blood and human skin" as well as "break you heart, break your face, not that much to look at anyway". This track starts with the a painfully energetic intro and the perfect blend of angry//angsty//teen vocals that combine to tell you that its going to be a fantastic 3 minutes. If one looks between the claims to scratching cars and hiding knives, one finds that the song is ultimately just a somewhat flawed justification at acting like a teen. The consistent chant of "we've got class, we've got style" that progressively gets more and more use throughout the song culminates in giving the song both a sense of justification, but also highlights an underlying self-conscious feel. Fantastic.
I hope you have enjoyed the pretentious rant as next week, i'm going to take a brief look at a television show that has taken most of my time this year with its 2 intertwined seasons of constant mind fucks, various sub-plots and gigantic amounts of win. That's correct internet, next week I will attempt to tell you why you should be watching David Lynch's 80's masterpiece "Twin Peaks".
Until then, much peace, love and happiness.
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