Back before the world was turned upside down ( I’m trying not to say, ‘pre-internet’) some bands were content to remain a mystery, any facts you could glean probably came from the tattered pages of the music press (look that up), it was fun, seriously it was! In the scorched earth reality that is the modern world not only does everyone have an opinion but artists are virtually obligated to bend over backwards to get attention and sell themselves (come to think of it maybe we all do…) and I guess who can blame them? It can all feel a bit desperate though.
Which brings me to “Corporate Indie Band“: Swansea Sound (Amelia Fletcher and Hue Williams) take the musical idea of ‘being your own brand‘ and pelt it with wry one liners, tipped with acidic barbs that may only translate well to the cynical but still idealistic few who know it wasn’t always like this. Choice lines? Well it doesn’t get much more on target than, ‘angst on demand, all our emotions secondhand‘ we could all name of few of the bands that traffic in that kind of shallow emptiness I’m sure… That they do this via a satisfyingly chunky Velvets guitar chug and churn seals the deal. Oh, and it’s really catchy too. On top of that you get the slashing chord tale of teenage rebellion in the suburbs that is Angry Girl. The skill and humour on display should come as no surprise when you consider a lineage that includes Heavenly and Pooh Sticks amongst many others.
Finally, in an ultimately futile but defiantly pleasing two fingers to digital, it’s NOT on all your favourite streaming services but is on cassette. And not a hipster approved cassette on sale in Urban Outfitters. Above all else this is great big sardonic fun. Number 6 with a bullet in the NME indie chart… if such a thing still existed.
